A/N- I'm glad you guys like it :) Anyway, there's another Helga pairing I want to do. Hence why I didn't make her go with Arnold. But I assure you they will have their moments.
For the past 30 minutes I have been trying out a selection of dresses and had been twirling around for Phoebe's delight. Now, I'm currently wearing a simple mauve-coloured dress that has a few glitters here and there. It had spaghetti straps and whenever I turned, the dress flowed with my motion. I hate to admit it, but I loved it.
"How is it?" Phoebe asked. "It's pretty plain.."
"Yea but I'm getting it." I smile and let my hair down just so I can see what it looked like with my hair down and not on a pony-tail. "I like how it's not special-looking."
Phoebe smiles at me and held her silver Qipao between her arms. "I'm glad that you like it. We should pay for it now.. Just in case some other girls get their eyes on it."
I nod and placed gave our dresses to the shop clerk.
"Hey, want to grab some ice-cream at Slaussen's?" I ask her casually.
She smiles at me then thanks the shop clerk. "Sure."
...
A whiff of that ice-cream smell was enough to make my mouth water. I've been coming to Slaussens ever since the start of my sophomore year so it's kind of like my third home. The second is Phoebe's house, of course.
"Hey Helga, Phoebe." Benedict waved to us behind the counter. "What can I get you today?"
Benedict is the owner of Slaussens.
Around 30-40 years old and he's every kid's favourite man. I can clearly see that he enjoys his job by the laugh lines in his face.
"The usual, Ben." I shrug at him.
"I'll have a strawberry ice-cream on a cup, please." Phoebe chirped politely.
"Strawberry ice-cream and chocolate sundae with extra whip cream coming right up." Ben smiled and grabbed his scoop. He had noticed the shopping bag on Phoebe's hand and gave us a mischievous eye rise. I shake my head and rolled at my eyes.
"So I heard the prom's coming up." Ben says with his 'casual' tone - A tone that I'm very familiar with. "I take it you girls are coming."
"Forced, actually." I reply so he doesn't get the wrong idea. "By this little lion." I pat Phoebe's head and she purses her lips.
Ben gave us our orders and conveniently enough, Gerald and Arnold has to be there. Didn't they say that they were going here 30 minutes ago? How long do these dweebs eat their ice-cream...
"Gerald, Arnold, hello." Phoebe greeted them and placed our tray on the table next to them. "Nice bumping into you two again."
"Nice bumping into you too." Gerald smiled and took notice of the shopping bag. "Been shopping?"
"No we just carry around a plastic bag for fun." I replied sarcastically and stole a scoop out of my sundae. Phoebe shot a look at me then smiled sweetly to her dear beloved. "We have." She chirped sweetly. "And how about you? I presume you got what you wanted?"
"Yes and Gerald ended up having twice the ties he needed." Arnold commented and I snorted as his remark.
Phoebe and I sat down on our table and I realise I was sitting pretty close with him. How badly I wanted to exchange seats with sweet, dear Phoebe. I stood up from my chair and announce that I have to go to the bathroom. Phoebe looks at me like I was somebody suspicious and said, 'Okay'. Gerald said that he was going to order again and I find myself getting dragged by the arm by the tall hair-boy to the arcade part of the shop.
"Sorry, Helga." He said it to me in an audible whisper.
"If you're apologising about you taking Phoebe away from me last Friday then apology accepted." I say and folded my arms under her chest. Somehow, I think this is not what he' apologising about.
"Not that! About Arnold not going with you in the Prom. Phoebe and I really tried to set you two up." Gerald explained.
"Huh..?"
"He told me that he'll ask you at English.. And he did! Then after school he went on and asked Lila out and she said yes." I fix my eyes at him then glanced at his weirdly stacked hair that seemed to defy gravity.
"Geraldo I refuse to go out to prom with a person that can't understand sarcasm." I tell him.
"What..?"
"I didn't directly tell him 'No', but I told him that he should go and ask Lila instead.." I sigh and realise my own beloved was too dense to know the difference between sarcasm and normal talking.
"Why would you say that-"
"Because I know he wanted to go with her! Because he would be happy if he went with her!" I snap at him. "No one in the right mind would want to spend their prom with the school's No.1 bully. Face it, Gerald. If you were Arnold, would you want to spend prom with me, Helga Pataki?"
He was now silent. And I know why. Upholding the reputation of the girl that keeps Ole Betsy in business was hard. People just see you as a ruthless bullying maniac and doesn't really see you for you are. I excused my self and left the scene. His reply was pure silence.
..
"Why didn't you ask her?"
Arnold dropped his spoon and stared at Phoebe with a puzzled expression. "Asked who, Phoebe?"
"Helga! Why didn't ask her for the prom, Arnold?" Phoebe urged feeling vaguely irritated at the boy.
"Well, she didn't want to. She told me that I should ask Lila instead.." He felt uncomfortable an decided that it was a good time to finish his Grandpa's errands. "Anyway, I have to go. Tell Gerald I had some errands to do. Nice bumping into you, Phoebe."
The Asian girl sighed and pushed her glasses up. "Telling."
...
I come back to Phoebe and I find her all alone on our table, taking baby-bites off her ice cream while staring blankly at the plastic table.
"Hey Pheebs." I say and sat myself down on my chair. "Where's Geraldo and Arnoldo?"
"They just left." She replies with a small voice. "You know you can hang out with me and Gerald at the prom..."
I fix my eyes at her and start suspecting that she told Arnold something. Maybe I was just being pretty delusional considering it IS late. (Past 8:30 actually.) I stare at her and sighed. I don't want to ruin her special night by doing something stupid... She is my best friend after all.
"You can go with Gerald, Pheebs. I'll be fine." I pack my things and decide it's a good time to get home. Stupid Bob wouldn't want me to go home late. It's not like I care or anything but a lonely girl's gotta have rules so she won't lose her mind. "Besides, I got other people like Sheena and Nadine.. I bet they won't mind if I hang around with them."
"But Helga-" Phoebe protested weakly.
"I'll be fine, Phoebe." I urged. I decide that this was the right time to depart or else I'll get in a argument with the Pheebs-ter. "Go have your night. You're suppose to spend it with the person you like, not the person you're forced to spend it with."
She knows that her protests won't get through to me. I know that myself. Well, raise the glass for the loners in prom! "Anyway, I have to go. See you tomorrow, Phoebe."
I rushed out of the ice cream store and paced to my route - almost looking pretty suspicious. Like a drug dealer of some sort. I can feel my eyes prickling. It was very humiliating to go to that stupid 'mating ritual' (Yes, my opinion on it didn't, and will never change) alone.
Maybe I could just stay home and watch a bunch if sap movies but that would certainly break Phoebe's heart. I hate myself for agreeing to this. I hate Arnold for being such a puppy to Lila. I hate myself right now. God, I feel like a spoilt 15 year-old girl.
I know this was just a part of the dark parts in my life and as the cliché quote says, 'It's always darkest before dawn', I will soon have my best moments in life - I just have to wait for this damned darkness to pass by. But I'm starting to wonder if it will ever leave. I have been in the dark so much, I'm starting to question if the 'dawn' still exists or if it's long gone. But I think that's just me over-analysing the quote.
I shove my hands on my pockets and my finger started to feel a crumpled wrapper of bubblegum and some loose coins. Probably a nickel. I sigh as I turn to a corner and realise their is no football-headed admiration to crash onto.
The realisation of going back to my house and feeling like a ghost was more uplifting than going alone at the prom - Because this time, I'm used to it.
But to be honest, I think I'm overreacting.