Blue Hats and Pink bows
It was a lovely Sunday evening in Hillwood and the teen known as Arnold was in the Park near sixth and vine taking a walk, enjoying the cool breezes and falling leaves that autumn had to offer. Normally, he'd be hanging out with his friends, playing baseball at Gerald field or sitting in Arnolds room talking about how they can try to afford their go-cart ; their favorite activities since childhood. But the guys were still grounded for the recent prank they pulled on principle Worts; the plan was to T-P all of Worts office. It started as a good idea, up until Eugene tripped over one of the principles toys he forgot to pick up earlier. He wound up falling and spilling the toilet-paper over everyone just as the principle walked in, resulting in a punishment sentence of two weeks with no phone or TV. Arnold was just glad that they didn't go with their original plan to put tapioca in his desk; otherwise their grounding might've been longer.
Luckily for Arnold, he and Gerald where sick with the flu when Harold came up with his latest prank, and therefore were able to leave their homes. Unfortunately Gerald was still ill and needed a few more days of rest; Arnold found his life to be pretty boring without his friends around. But this was the last weekend of his pals' punishment so to take his mind off of it; he went on a nature walk around the woods near the park, something he had done countless times before. Before he knew it, he reached his favorite spot under his favorite tree where he could watch the sun set. He sat down and leaned his back against the tree. The blond-haired boy stretched his arms out and drooped his eyes to hazily watch the day end.
The relaxing sounds of nature surrounding him and the comfort of soft grass beneath him, allowed Arnold's subconscious to take over and pull him into a peaceful sleep. He would've slept there all night had it not been for a stray leaf falling on his nose. The presence of the leaf jerked Arnold back into an awakened state. He looked at his pocket-watch and discovered he had been sleeping for nearly three hours. It was nearly eight o'clock and he had to get home and make himself dinner, as his grandparents were out of town. He yawned and stood but discovered that it had gotten very dark and the street lamps had not yet come on making it very hard for him to see.
"Stupid daylights savings time" He muttered to himself, extending his hands in front of himself to find a path out of the woods and into the park. Usually, Arnold was good with knowing where he was going, but in the absence of light he was completely lost. He stumbled blindly through the park, desperately trying to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Trying to get his bearings he gazed ahead and saw dim lights a few yards away. Absentmindedly, he sped toward the lights. Immediately regretted this decision once he felt the ground from under him disappear, and his body was sent tumbling down a very steep hill. Arnold trashed around, trying to grab hold of something anything to slow him down, but it was useless. Pain shot through multiple parts of his body, leading up to grand injury as his limp body landed on ground with a loud thud.
The poor teen groaned. All he could do was to stare up at the night sky as his body's system was trying to producing as many endorphins as it could. He took deep breaths and lifted his body up off the ground, albeit slowly and shakily. He needed first aid badly, and knew that there was only one place where he could get it. Now that he was closer to the streets, he realized what street he was on and where the lights he saw before were coming from Helga's house. A place Arnold did not want to be since she was his bully since childhood. To make matters worse, Arnold was starting to feel lightheaded witch he knew to be a bad sign. Helga, of all the girls in his school she was the only one he couldn't figure out, his rational side said that she will just say no and slam the door in his face, or would she use this as an opportunity to show her kinder side. "What am I saying this is Helga" he thought loudly; "she may be mean but even she has a heart". But Arnold didn't have time to stand around logic said that if he didn't get his wounds tended, he could get an infection in one of his open cuts. Sighing and clutching his arms, he shambled his way up the steps towards her front door and prayed this wouldn't turn out as bad as he thought it might.
A nerves shiver filled him as he approached her door. Memories from years ago flooded his mind and made him recoil away from the door. He thought of all the times that he was picked on; all the times she called him names like football-head or paste for brains, or when she would spray him with water from the drinking fountain and glue feathers on his butt and call him a bird. Upon retrospect, they weren't bad situations, but something about her, bugged him. Maybe it was the fact that she singled him out of all of his other his friends. But as he stepped upwards to the door, he reflected on how she seemed to have changed her behaviors. She still called him names; that was never going to change, but she seemed to have taken less interest in fiscally assaulting him. This gave Arnold the confidence to try, raising his lacerated hand and knocked on the door.
Inside the Pataki house most of the lights had been turned off except for the living room and the glow form a large big screen TV. The house looked as empty as it felt save for one figure on the couch. Helga was lying on her pale green couch, with a bowl of popcorn centered on her stomach, watching an old monster movie. She was dressed in her comfiest sleeping clothes; she no longer wore her pink footy-pajamas but instead wore something more comfortable which consisted of a white t-shirt and a pair of blue boxers shorts. Getting bored with the movie, she picked up the remote and began flipping through the various channels on the TV. Before she could settle on a good program, Helga heard three small knocks at the door. She tried to ignore it hoping that whoever it was would give up and leave. But to no avail as she heard three more knocks. This made Helga very annoyed.
It was night time and she hated being disturbed. Placing the popcorn bowl on the coffee table, she angrily stormed toward the door. Helga made sure to grab her baseball bat from the closet and placed it near the door in case whoever it was wouldn't leave," buzz off would ya I'm not interested", she said nastily. But when she opened the door however Helga gasped at the sight in front of her.
"Arnold!" Helga exclaimed. "What happened to you?" She had a right to sound concerned, as the fall he took was a bad one. Anything not covered by clothing was covered in dirt; there were small cuts all over his face and arms, with bruises to accompany them. His plaid shirt was ripped almost completely, exposing some more scrapes on his chest.
"Helga..." Arnold said nervously. "May I...come in...please?" His legs began shaking, a sign that they would soon give out. Helga noticed this and wrapped an arm around him to keep him balanced.
"Yeah sure," She said gently. The two walked into the living room, where Helga proceeded to lie the hurt teen down on the couch. Helga picked up the throw pillow she had put on the floor earlier and placed it behind Arnold's head so he could relax. "What happened to you football-head? You look like you went a few rounds with a lawn-mower" she said in a matter of fact tone trying to hide the obvious concern she had for him. "Oh Arnold my beloved what dastardly fate has befallen you for you to end up in this state. But fear not for I shall nurse you back to health" she thought to herself as she observe Arnold who looked to be in a lot of pain.
"I accidentally stumbled down a hill. I didn't expect it to get dark so soon." Arnold winced, trying to find a comfortable position on the couch.
"Well, that's daylight's savings time for ya, it messes us all up." Helga said getting up and walking toward the up stars bathroom. She came back with a white box in her hands, a sight Arnold was very pleased to see. He winced as he adjusted himself on the couch so he could sit up and nurse his wounds. Helga sat down on the opposite end of the couch, and Arnold reached for the first aid kit. "What do you think you're doing?" She asked sarcastically while pulling the kit to her chest.
"I was hoping to treat my injuries." He replied. Helga just rolled her eyes.
"Sorry buck-o, but you're cut up pretty badly, and you can barely sit up straight so I'll do it for you." Helga said with a stern look on her face as she edged closer to Arnold. Arnold scooted backwards as she said this.
"But Helga I...I'm perfectly capable of doing that." The boy stuttered. Helga opened the kit and took out sanitary wipes and bandages.
"Quite being so stubborn and hold still, Helga replied as she got closer to Arnold. "I'm not being stubborn Helga" Arnold snapped back. "Yes you are; I want to make sure you heal one hundred percent, and I can't do that if you won't sit still. And if I have to knock you out to do so I will." Helga said with a tone of worry in her voice. Arnold looked at her and saw that she meant her words. Not wanting to fight with her on this for he knew she wouldn't back down so easily; he extended his cut up arms and prepared for the familiar sting of antiseptic. "Um...your shirt's going to have to come off." Helga said looking down trying to hide the blush creeping across her face.
Arnold's eyes bulged. He retracted his arms and covered his chest; his face turned a brighter red than Helga's.
"Oh come on!" She reasoned. "You've got a bunch of cuts all over you. And I doubt you can do it yourself in the shape you're in". While Arnold didn't want to take off his shirt, she had I valid point, his shirt was torn and he could see specs of blood on it. He took a huge gulp and grabbed the bottom of the material. Looking away from Helga, he slowly brought the shirt up over his stomach, chest, and finally his head. After his shirt was off, Helga could see that his arms were not the only spot that was in bad shape, she extended her hand to take his shirt. He handed it over and did his best to ignore the feeling of self-consciousness he was feeling at that moment. Helga tossed the shirt casually over the arm of the couch and picked up the wipes. She opened up a napkin package and gently took one of Arnold's arms.
"This might sting a bit." Helga said calmly. Arnold, by now was used to antibacterial cleaning napkins, nodded his head. Helga took the wipe and went up and down Arnold's arm, making sure not too press hard. After covering the entire arm, she tenderly blew a cool stream of air on the boy's cuts. Counting them out, Helga grabbed three bandages and applied them to Arnold's thin arm. As soon as she was done, she reached for his other arm, which he willingly gave her. She repeated her process of wipe, dry slightly, blow and bandage up. Arnold was impressed with how well she was helping him. Helga lowered his arm and bit her lip.
"I can either do your chest or back now." She said in a shy tone. Arnold turned his back to her and twiddled his fingers. He heard Helga tear open a new package and felt the cold wet, slight stinging sensation on his shoulders. Knowing that she would be working on his back for a little bit, he decided to make conversation.
"H-Helga, you uh..." He stutteringly said. "You certainly know a lot about first aid treatment." Helga giggled.
"Yah well Miriam and Bob were too busy praising Olga all the time they never had time for me, she said in a very snide manner. So whenever I got hurt I was on my own. Once I fell out of my bed and broke my finger, so I had to reset it myself." Helga laughed as she thought it was kind-of funny. Arnold on the other hand couldn't believe what she was telling him. He was impressed and saddened by what she had just said. Helga was a very smart and clever girl and her parents were too busy with her older sister to even notice. Helga finished cleaning Arnold's back and softly blew another gust of air on his back. She disposed of the napkin and covered his back with ten bandages. Helga reached for a new napkin and tore open the package. "Time for that chest now football-head."
Without a word, Arnold turned around and leaned back on his hands, so Helga could properly clean every scrape. As she applied the sterile pads to his chest, Arnold noticed Helga. Her face had a look of concern mixed with care. Helga was smiling, creating small dimples in her face. Her blond hair fell over her large deep blue eyes which were focused on each cut making sure no germ would survive to infect her beloved. He was really surprised by Helga's willingness to help him. Usually, whenever he would ask Helga for help for anything she would say no, or say he owed her one and make him do all the work. But tonight Helga seemed not just willing to help but showed concern for his wellbeing. Arnold couldn't help but smile as he thought about this.
Helga applied the last succession of breezes of air and bandages to the cut up teen. She closed the first aid kit and got up to return it. Arnold marveled at her work. He already felt ten times better than when he had walked in her house.
"I was just about to make myself some dinner, you hungry?" She called. Almost simultaneously, Arnold's stomach began to growl. It was almost nine, and he hadn't eaten since that afternoon. And with his grandparents gone, it was too late for him to fix anything for himself.
"Well, I am a bit hungry it seems." Arnold called back. He sat back on the couch and took notice of how cold the room had become since losing his shirt, and having cold antiseptic applied to his skin didn't help. He rubbed his arms for warmth and wondered what exactly Helga was doing. A beep came from the kitchen and a pungent scent wafted into Arnold's nostrils. He heard footsteps behind him, looking over his shoulder he saw Helga with a tray that carried two steaming plates with a dark grey cloth draped over her arm.
"I hope you don't mind leftover spaghetti." The blond teen said, placing the tray on the coffee table. She then tossed the cloth to Arnold, who missed and picked it up off of the floor. "It's an old shirt from one of my sister's old boyfriends, but you can wear it."
"Thank you for the food and the..." Arnold trailed off, seeing the shirt had large red letters that said `DRUNK GENIUS `98!' "Spare clothing." Helga smiled and took a plate and handed to Arnold. Without word, he quickly put on the shirt and took the offering. The two teens ate their quickly made meal. Wanting to break the silence, Arnold spoke up.
"So Helga, where exactly are your parents? I just noticed it has been rather quiet." He said nervously. Helga laughed. "Meeting Olga's new husband to-be". Arnold stopped eating for a second and looked at Helga with an expression that asked her to explain.
"Well, Olga thinks she's found the perfect guy like last time, so Bob and Miriam flue down to Alaska to surprise them." She explained, chewing on a forkful of spaghetti. "Me on the other hand I chose to stay here, and hold down the fort."
"Sorry to hear that." Arnold replied, nearing the end of his meal.
"No need to be sorry, I'm used to not having them around. I've got the entire house all to myself and I can do anything I want with no consequences." Helga said slyly. She finished her plate and set it down. Arnold did the same. He started to fidget as the silence grew, but Helga just smiled. "What about you? I mean there's got to be a reason you stayed for dinner here. Your grandparents away, too?"
"Well, yes they are." He responded. "You see there anniversary is coming up and they decided to take a trip to Niagara Falls, so they'll be gone for two weeks." What about the other boarders?" Helga asked. "Oh well is visiting his daughter in the next town over and Mr and Mrs Kacoshka are out on a double-date with Mr Potts and Lola tonight. So the Boarding house is empty".
Arnold looked down at his lap and rubbed his palms. "You know Helga I all ways thought you were lucky". Arnold said softly. This caused Helga to raise an eyebrow at him. "I mean I've all ways wanted a brother or a sister to be honest, and at least you have parents, I still don't know what happened to my mom and dad."
"That's kinda sad." Helga thought. "Now that I think about it, I'm used to my parents ignoring me so I guess I've never really thought about what it would be like if they weren't around. "
"But I'm happy for your sister Helga, I hope this one turn's out to be better than the last one." Arnold replied knocking Helga out of her thoughts.
Arnold looked up at Helga and she could see the honesty in his admittance, and her heart melted. "Oh Arnold my beloved angel, your kind and honest words makes me yearn to hold you. My golden haired love god how I long to kiss the lips that speaks of your gentile and caring thoughts". She gave him a smile, which made Arnold smile back. Helga looked at the clock and noticed how late it was. At that point a lovely idea popped into her head.
"You know, it's getting late..." She started to say. "And since it's so late, you want to stay over here for the night?" Arnold's eyes went wide. He had never stayed over at a girl's house before, and he didn't expect to do so at Helga's. He bit his lip wondering what he should do. Helga had been so helpful to him. He couldn't get why she was acting so nice all of a sudden, "I mean I've all ways wanted her to show her kinder side, but what brought this on"? He thought about it for a bit, trying to think of what her reason could be. Was it that she felt sorry for him for getting hurt? Or was she being genuine in her offer?
"C'mon, w-we can both sleep soundly knowing there's someone else around. Y-you know, j-just in case?" Helga said stutteringly trying to suppress the blush creeping across her face. Arnold had to admit, he would be able to sleep better if another person was in close proximity. He decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to spend the night with Helga Pataki.
"Just remember, we have school tomorrow." He said lying back into the couch. Helga grinned happily to herself and jumped off the couch. She ran up to her room to get Arnold some blankets and a decent pillow. Arnold took off his shoes and put them neatly next to the couch. Helga came back in and handed him the sleeping materials. He placed the blankets and pillow next to him and looked up to Helga.
"Thank you for...well everything, Helga." Arnold said contently.
"Whatever football-head." Helga replied trying to hide the joy in her heart knowing that she just fulfilled one of her fantasies. "Bathroom's down the hall, to the left. If you need anything, I'm upstairs in my room. "What if I have a nightmare Helga?" Arnold said jokingly. Helga stopped and could not resist the temptation. "Well I guess we could all ways share my bed" she said in a coy manner. Upon hearing this Arnold's face turned a bright red that would put a lighthouse to shame. Ha-ha I'm just messing with you football-head relax, Helga said Unable to hold her laughter in any longer. Arnold just sighed and shook his head, laughing a little himself. Helga smiled and turned toward the stairs. Arnold lied back on the couch, snuggling under the warm blankets provided to him. He saw the lights of the living room flicker off and could have sworn he heard a joyful sigh from upstairs.
"Did you say something Helga" he asked.
"I-I said good night, Arnold." She quickly called.
"Good night, Helga." He called back.
Arnold closed his eyes and rested his head on the extremely soft pillow. He opened his eyes to look toward the top of the stairs. He thought of how lucky he was to have formed this kinship with Helga. He thought about how great a provider Helga was, how funny she was...how cute she was. His eyes went wide as he jerked up. Did he just think the word cute? Of all the words in his vocabulary, that was a word he did not think that he would use to describe Helga. It's not that she wasn't pretty or anything, but why was he thinking of Helga Pataki like that? He lied down again. Why was he feeling this way? Did he like-like Helga? He didn't hate her and he certainly appreciated having her with him, but Helga? Arnold closed his eyes and began to drift into a peaceful slumber. But the last thing he thought of was Helga, rubbing his chest and blowing cool air on him.
"I think I like-like her..." Arnold mumbled, succumbing to the welcome of unconsciousness.
The next morning Arnold awoke to the pleasant aroma of French toast. He lazily got up off the couch and shuffled into the kitchen, "hey Grandma what're you making?" he said fighting back a yawn. "Morning sleepy head "came a very chipper and all too familiar voice. Arnold looked up in surprise to see Helga cheerfully making breakfast, and in an instant he recalled the events of last night.
Coming to his senses Arnold took a closer look around the kitchen, Helga was indeed making breakfast but he also noticed that she had set the table. There were two places set, orange juice had already been poured in to two rather large glasses. And the plates were loaded with scrambled-eggs, bacon and toast, now all that was missing was the-. "Hope you like French toast!" Arnold's thoughts were interrupted when Helga spoke. "W-well yeah I do, wow Helga this looks great". Arnold said unable to hold back the look of surprise on his face. "G-gee thanks Arnold, Well what are you waiting for an invention sit before it gets cold" she said trying to shake the blush from her face. Arnold took a seat across from Helga and began to dig-in.
After about five minutes of eating in silence Arnold decided to strike up conversion. "S-so… um…Helga" Arnold had never been this nervous around a girl before; he had become unsure of what to say. All he could think of was how nice Helga seemed to look in the morning. He couldn't place it but something about her outfit and the way she looked was familiar, like he had seen it before. Helga looked up at Arnold as he tried to speak "yeah what's up Arnold". "I…umm…just wanted to say that you look nice today". He said with a nerves smile, "what is wrong with me, why can't I talk normally". Helga blushed a little, trying to keep her composer. "Oh th-thanks Arnold".
Helga did indeed look nice; she had set her alarm clock to five a.m. in order to get up before Arnold. After she was woken by the metal buzzing of her alarm she quickly jumped off her bed and darted for the closet. Helga sifted through every outfit in her wardrobe; she wanted to look her best for Arnold. Looking at one outfit after another she finally settled on the one she wore when she pretended to be Cecile. Not wanting to look too formal she through on a pair of jeans to make it look a little casual. Once Helga was dressed she quietly made her way down the stairs, Arnold was still sleeping soundly on the couch. She walked a little slower as she past him, taking in the look of Arnold's sleeping face. "I wander what he's dreaming about, and I wander if he'll ever dream about me". Helga thought as she used her finger to brush away a stray hair. She could have stayed and watched the object of her desires all day, but not wanting to risk him waking up and having to explain she hurried to the kitchen to begin breakfast.
The two teens ate in silence for five minutes until Helga decided to break the silence this time. "So…how are you feeling…good?" "Actually yeah, I feel great Helga. The first aid you gave me last night really helped a lot". Arnold smiled; he could not look up to meet Helga's face for he was still thinking of the night before. He was remembering the feeling of Helga rubbing his chest with the sterile wipes and the smile that adorned her face. "Arnold are you sure you're ok your face is turning red", Helga asked as she reached over the table to feel his forehead. "Ye-yeah I'm fine Hel…" Upon hearing Helga's voice he lifted his head and before he could finish he became aware of how close they were. Helga herself started to blush a little when she realized there closeness. "G-good I was umm… just making sure" she quickly removed her hand from his forehead and took her seat.
"Whoa steady Helga old-girl get a hold of yourself, but what was that look just now, was Arnold? Helga's thoughts were broken when she saw the clock out of the corner of her eye. It was thirty four minutes past eight and school started at nine. This meant they had less than twenty five minutes to get to school and they hadn't even finished breakfast yet.
Helga didn't want the moment to end but she also did not want to make them late either. They quickly ate the remainder of their breakfast and made their way out the door. The walk to school may have started out in silence but Helga was not about to let what happened at breakfast be just another heat of the moment situation. But to her surprise Arnold was the one to speak up first. "So Helga when do you think your parents will be returning?" Helga was taken aback; this was out of the blue. She started to wonder? "I don't know I guess a weak or so why?" "Well sense both our families won't be back till next week. I was thinking that if you want you could-" Helga stopped walking; she knew what he was going to propose but asked before he could finish. "Arnold are you… asking me to stay at your place?" Arnold just stood there in silence for a few seconds before nodding. Feeling a little embarrassed his gaze shifted down toward the pavement trying to hide the blush on his face.
Helga didn't know what to say. Arnold the boy of her dreams just invited her to spend not just the night but the whole week at his place. "Sorry Helga just forget I said anything". Arnold's good nature had often gotten the better of him at times. He always had a willingness to help those that needed it and started to think of Helga sleeping by herself in that empty house. He felt saddened by this, "what was I thinking, Helga would never-". His thoughts were cut off when he heard Helga clear her throat. "W-well I guess, at least until our families return". Arnold smiled; looking up to meat Helga's face, his heart almost fluttered when he saw her smile. The sight before his eyes almost took his breath away. Helga was just standing there smiling, but from where she was standing she looked like an angel to Arnold. The sun was almost directly behind her if not off to the side. She was brushing her bangs to the side, with the morning breeze it made her hair look like a field of golden wheat slightly dancing in the autumn wind.
They walked in silence the rest of the way to school. When the entrance of PS118 came into view Arnold stopped and turned to Helga. "Well I guess I'll catch you later then Arnold", Helga took a few steps toward the double doors of the school before Arnold spoke. "Umm...hey Helga". "Yeah what's up football-head"? When she turned around she saw that Arnold looked pretty nerves. He was looking at the ground kicking a bottle cap he found with the tip of his shoe. "Well I was kind of thinking that maybe I could walk you home after school".
Helga was lost in her own world when she heard him ask to walk home together. "Oh joy oh rapture, oh Arnold if only you knew the joy in my heart just from hearing those words. And if he wishes to hold my hand, then I don't think I could contain myself". "Helga… HELGA!" She quickly came back to the reality when she heard Arnold call her name. "Hmm..." "I said would you like to-", she turned to hide her smile cutting him off before he finish. "S-sure Arnold… I'd like that", "REALY GREAT!" he said with a little too much excitement and quickly tried to correct himself. "I-I mean ok great, so I'll see you later then?" "Yeah defiantly", Helga said as she opened the school doors. She saw her friend Phoebe up ahead. Waving buy to Arnold she made her way through the crowd of students. "Good morning Helga you look well today" Phoebe said in her usual cheery manner. Looking back towards the doors Helga bit her lip and looked back to her friend, "hey Phoebe". "Yes Helga" she asked with a slight look of concern on her face, "can I tell you something", "of course you can, what's up?" Helga paused for a moment before answering "It's about ice-cream".
At that same moment Arnold had just meet up with Gerald. "Hey man what's happen- whoa, dude your face!" Gerald face went from a smile to concern when he saw Arnold's scratched face and arms. "Hey Gerald" Arnold replied cheerfully. "Man what happened to you, you look like you went a few rounds with a lawn-mower." Arnold couldn't help but laugh at his friend's question, being the same one Helga asked. Gerald raised an eyebrow at his friend's response to his question, "Arnold what's so damn funny?"
Regaining his composure Arnold looked to his friend. "It's nothing Gerald, I just thought of something funny that's all". "Well it looks like you did a good job on the first aid, that must have hurt?" The boys started to make their way down the crowded hall to class. "Actually I had help", Arnold said. Gerald looked to best friend wondering who he could be talking about. Harold and the rest of the guys were still grounded so it wasn't any of them. "Oh who… Phoebe, Nadine, or was it Lila", Gerald said nudging his friend in the side with his elbow. This caused Arnold to wince for he was still a little sore from the fall. Gerald quickly apologized but Arnold just waved shrugged it off.
"Man Arnold I don't get it if you're still hurt then why come to school?" Gerald asked, Arnold turned to look back at Helga. Not looking where he was going Arnold suddenly came face to face with a row of lockers. Gerald just shook his head before helping his friend to his feet. "You ok man?" Gerald asked with an amused look. Arnold just looked up and smiled "you know Gerald I'm better than ok".
The End