Chapter 2: The Blossoming of a New Friendship
A/N: Hey guys thanks for the reviews and advice about changing the paragraph when the speaker changes. I'm going to try and improve on that. Anyway, you guys wanted me to continue it, so I did. But you know what? I love writing, so I kinda went overboard and it took me all day to plan and I wrote like 6 pages on paper worth of a draft. So this might be a long chapter but it's the last. Hope you like it! The beginning was kind of inspired by my new favorite artist on Deviantart: Kasukapl. Thanks for the wonderful art!
As Arnold and Helga walked into the Boarding House, they ran into none other than Arnold's Grandpa.
"Well, Well, Well. Who do we have here? Aren't you going to introduce me to your little lady friend, Shortman?" Phil asked, knowing full well who she was, but always managing to forget.
Arnold was beginning to get a little bashful and even started getting a tint of blush on his cheeks. "Um...you know Helga, Grandpa...I- I've told you about her." He stuttered the last part out, but managed to keep his composure.
Helga had a perplexed look on her face. 'Arnold talks about me?!' She thought and then mentally swooned.
Arnold looked at her, feeling nervous. He tried to get her to say hi to his grandpa by nudging her arm.
"Ow! What was that for?" She questioned him. He gave her a look that was gesturing torwards his grandpa. "Oh, hey there, gramps." She said, not feeling the least bit nervous until...
"Do I know you, Helga?" He said, trying to recall the last time he saw her.
Helga, of course, getting all nervous, looked at Arnold imidiately and then back to Phil.
"Um...no...what are you kidding?! I have never seen you in my entire life." She said, almost falling to the ground as she was backing away, tugging at the collar of her shirt.
Arnold looked at her like she was crazy, but let it slide because it was getting late. "Okay Grandpa. Now that you have met Helga, we better get going." He, without warning grabbed Helga's arm and started pulling her to the kitchen.
As Arnold was pulling Helga, she almost tripped over the rug. "A-Arnold, wait! Slow down, Hair boy! Crimany!" She shouted at him.
Arnold ignored her and kept pulling her faster down the hallway.
When they were finally in the kitchen, Arnold got the stuff out to make hot chocolate, while Helga sat surprisingly quietly at the table until Phil peeked in and looked at Helga. She was making dreamy eyes at her beloved, 'Oh Arnold.' She thought, looking at the back of his oblong head.
Phil kept looking at her until she noticed. Once she turned around enough to catch a glimpse of him, he was gone. She growled. 'That old man better not blow my cover' She thought as she stared torward the doorway leading to the living room.
"Is everything okay, Helga?" Arnold asked muddled by her expression.
Helga finally came out of her thoughts noticing that Arnold was standing in front of her holding a cup of hot chocolate out to her. "Oh yeah I'm just peachy, Hair boy." She said taking the cup from his hands.
Phil on the other hand could hear everything that they were saying as he was standing on the outside of the doorway. 'That girl most definitely has a crush on Shortman' he thought. "I'm such a wily old coot" he said chuckling to himself making his way into the living room to watch tv.
Meanwhile in the kitchen, Arnold was apologizing to Helga about the encounter of his Grandfather when they walked in. "I'm sorry about that Helga, that's why I grabbed you pulling you in here because I could tell he was making you uncomfortable." he said finishing.
Helga, not thinking about what she was saying, said something that changed the mood of the room from peaceful to mixed emotions. " Yeah, your Grandparents sure are crazy. I mean, your Grandmother is even worse than your Grandpa by the way she dances around like a lunatic all the time." Helga realized what she had just said and quickly put her hand over her mouth.
And that's what set Arnold off. "Excuse me? My Grandparents are all that I have as parents." He said raising his voice.
Helga was just sitting there with her mouth covered by her hand staring wide-eyed at him.
He sat there for a moment deep in thought. Then got up, dropping his cup of hot chocolate on the way out, and growling loudly.
CRASH!
She gasped loud upon hearing the cup meet the floor. ' Oh my beloved, there I go again, tormenting you with my sarcastic and rude comments, especially on a day like this? The day that your parents left you? Oh how I wish those words have never left my mouth. ' She thought. She looked over to see him walking out of the room. " Arnold? Where are you going? " She asked but when he didn't answer she decided to follow him.
They walked up the stairs, Arnold almost stomping because he was frustrated not only from Helga making a rude comment about his grandparents, but also because he said that one word that would always make him depressed, 'parents'. He was getting sick and tired of thinking about them so he decided what would be best.
Helga kept following him until they got to the top of the staircase. He jumped up and pulled the chord that led to the attic. She observed his actions carefully, then questioned him again. "Arnold? Football Head? What are you doing?"
" I'm fed up about thinking about them! He stressed the word 'them' to let her know that he was talking about his parents.
Helga, feeling bad about bringing up a conversation that would lead to his parents, tried to apologize, but he cut in on her apology.
"It's not your fault Helga!" He shouted frustrated. "I know you didn't mean to say that and I forgive you."
Helga was startled by his sudden outburst. She had a look of concern and nervousness upon her features.
Arnold was growing even more furious to the moment where he didn't care if he said 'that word' "I don't want to think about my parents anymore! I'm sick of hoping they'll come back one day! I keep having these dreams that make me even more depressed as the days go on." He said sadly.
Helga gasped as he took of his hat dangling it over a box of his parents' things. "What are you doing Football Head?!" She questioned as she ran torwards him.
"It's time to move on. I don't want to hear anymore stories about my parents!" He said.
Helga watched intently as he dropped his sky blue hat into the box and closed it. Helga always loved the light blue colored object that somehow suited his wonderfully shaped football head perfectly. She couldn't take it anymore, she had to do something instead of just standing there
watching her beloved fall apart right in front of her. "ARNOLD!" She yelled, getting his full attention knowing that she was being serious by the way she said his actual name. "You listen here and you listen good!" She yelled. "You may not have you're parents here with you right now..." Arnold winced at the way she said that. "And you may think that they are long gone, but that doesn't mean that you should lose faith in them!"
Arnold was getting even more frustrated by her shouting, so he decided to put the box on the shelf...
"I'm in the same boat as you are bucko and you know it! I may have parents and they may not pay atten-" She was cut off from her rant by a loud thump heard on the floor followed by Arnold's gasp. "What is it?" she said walking up to Arnold and the mysterious item laying on the floor before them.
Arnold picked it up and opened it, scanning through the pages, he smiled to himself. "Helga, i-it's my dad's journal!"
"Really? Let me see." He handed her the book. "Wow that's amazing, football head!" She handed it back to him and he took it practically jumping up and down. Helga was glad that her beloved had found something that his parents left behind, because if he hadn't found that journal, she probably would've never seen her love smile as intensely as he did now.
"I HAVE TO SHOW GRANDPA!" He shouted, interrupting Helga's thoughts.
"Okay Football head, I should probably get going, and I'm sorry for yell-" before she could finish, he was already half-way down the stairs. ' Sheesh, what's his deal with interrupting me today?'
She asked herself in her mind. As she was walking torward the doorway, he sprinted through almost knocking Helga to her feet. She watched as he reached up and grabbed the box, pulling his hat out and placing it on his head, all the while smiling brightly.
He looked at her and wondered if she was going to follow him. "Aren't you coming Helga?"
"Well I was about to until you came running in through almost knocking me to my feet." She said in a jokingly manner, laughing.
"Oh, sorry. I'm just-" he was cut off by Helga.
"Yeah, I know you're excited, go. The sooner you find your grandpa, the sooner you can read it." She said smiling and pushing him torward the doorway.
He ran as fast as he could down the stairs yelling, "Grandpa, Grandma! I found Dad's journal! I found Dad's journal!" leaving Helga alone at the top of the stairs as she made her way down them.
"Oh Arnold." She said smiling goofily and sighing girlishly.
Meanwhile, Arnold was at the bottom of the stairs when he ran into Mr. Potts, a.k.a. Ernie. He took a quick glance around his surroundings keeping an eye out for his grandpa. Then he looked back at Ernie obiously upon not seeing his grandfather. "Have you seen Grandpa?" he asked his voice at a noticably high level because he was eager to get the journal to his grandfather.
"He's in theliving room." Ernie said half-heartedly, making his way up to his room.
Just then, Arnold raced past him. "Hey, hey! Where's the fire kid?!" Ernie responded to the unexpected run-through with Arnold.
Helga was right behind Arnold as they made their way into the living room together, both rather excitedly. Arnold looked over to the couch and saw his grandfather there with a cup of tea. He was about to take a sip of it, but before he could swallow Arnold basically yelled into his ear, "GRANDPA, LOOK WHAT I FOUND!". This caused Phil to choke then do a spit-take all over the place,due to his usually calm and mellow grandson's outburst. It also earned a chuckle from Helga.
"Holy conoli Shortman! You scared the living daylights out of me!" He yelled, panicky.
"Sorry Grandpa! But look! It's my dad's journal!" He said, not even the least bit sorry for scaring him. (What did ya think he was just going to stand there casually, waiting for his Grandfather to take a sip of tea?! The boy just found something that he'd never think he'd find for crying out loud!).
Helga just stood beside Arnold waiting for Phil's reply.
"Hmm...Let me see that." Phil said observing the book in Arnold's hands. Arnold held the book out to him and Phil took it imidiately. "Yep must be the journal that your father wrote his adventures in while they were in San Lorenzo."
Arnold gasped in shock.
Helga gave Phil a look, she then pointed to the journal, without Arnold's knowing, then pointed upwards. He knew where she was going with this, so he held the book up out of Arnold's reach.
"It's too bad that you don't want to hear anymore stories about your parents, Football Head." Helga said teasingly.
Arnold looked over to Helga, who was smirking, then to the book in Phil's hands above him. He was anxious to get the answers of parents and their adventures, so he jumped up determined to reach the book out of his grandfathers grasp. As soon as got it, he ran into the living room with it. Helga and Phil both gave each other a quick smirk before following Arnold into the living room where he practically jumped into the chair with the journal.
"Can we read it Grandpa please!?" He pleaded.
Phil looked to Helga, "Do you want to stay? I can get Pookie to make some sandwiches." He asked her.
Helga looked to Arnold with a questioning look. "I have no problem with you staying Helga." He said in his good natured tone.
"Yeah sure I guess I'll stay. It's not like I have anything else better to do." She said, although on the inside she was brimming with joy.
"Okay, Helga. Do you want to go call your parents and let them know that you're staying?" He asked her. But that question from him earned a look, a look that said you-know-the-answer.
"Right" he said smiling.
"Okay Shortman! Go get your Grandma to-"
Before he could finish his sentence, Pookie walked in with a platter full of sandwiches, "Way ahead of ya!" She shouted.
Helga giggled at the sight of her, she was wearing her usual cowgirl outfit with Spurs on her cowgirl boots, complete with a cowgirl hat.
"Before we start, can I talk to Helga alone please?" He asked his grandparents.
Helga was starting to get nervous again, ' Oh no. Here we go. Please don't be awkward, please don't be awkward.' She prayed in her head again and again.
"Sure Tex, but don't take to long, these sandwhiches will get dried up in this hot dessert."
She said being her usual self.
Phil just rolled his eyes and got up, but when both of them were about to exit the room, Arnold (again) pulled Helga without warning out to the kitchen. Phil and Gertie looked to each other with that look, most likely knowing where this was going.
"Crimany! Hair boy! Give me a little warning before you go pulling me into another room like a race horse!" She yelled.
"Sorry Helga, but I want to get this over with now." She looked to him with a questioning gaze.
"Thanks Helga." He said putting a friendly hand on her shoulder.
Helga was puzzled. "For what?" She asked.
"For everything..." He trailed off lost in thought with blush tinted cheeks.
"Mind telling me what everything is, Football Head? Crimany! I don't have all day!" She said.
Arnold couldn't hold it in anymore. It was now or never he thought. "For comforting me when Lila broke up with me, for warning me about that awful girl, Summer at the beach, for getting your dad to fund the money for the float, for finding Mr. Hyunh's daughter just so I could be happy for Christmas..."
Helga went wide-eyed at the last part. "How did you-?"
But he finished the list of good deeds she did for him over their whole fourth-grade year. "For helping Gerald and I save the neighborhood, and for just being there for me!" He blurted out, almost out of breath.
Helga just stood there in front of him astonished. She honestly didn't know what to say or think of how in the world he knew that she was the one who helped bring back Mr. Hyunh's daughter, Mai.
Arnold, on the other hand, couldn't help himself. He pulled her into another tight hug, but this one had much more passion to it than the last one.
Helga didn't have enough energy to push him away, so she just stood there frozen in shock.
Arnold realized that she wasn't moving so he asked if she was okay. "Um, Helga? Are you okay?"
She finally found her composure again, "yeah, yeah I'm fine Arnoldo. Do you mind giving me some space? Sheesh!" She said.
Arnold realized that he was in Helga's personal space so he backed away. "Oh, um...sorry, Helga." He said nervously.
'Come on Helga ol' girl say something...say something nice.' She thought. "I-it's fine football head. "And hey, all that stuff you said...you uh..deserved it. Y'know your always helping me with my problems and everyone else's that I thought um...you need help with yours just as much as someone needs help from you." She said bashfully.
Arnold smiled at her. He knew where she was coming from but thought it might be better if he kept his mouth shut, not to make it anymore awkward than it already was. 'Helga can be such a nice person when she wants to be.' He thought.
"Okay...well, uh, what are we waiting for? You wanna see what's in that journal don't you?" Arnold nodded. "Then let's go!" She said leading the way, by which Arnold, being the gentleman that he is, gestured for her to go first.
Phil and Pookie were watching the whole scene before them. They both looked at each other and smirked knowing what the young pairs' future would be like. Once they saw them making their way into the living room, Phil and Pookie dodged for the couch so they wouldn't be caught spying on them. "Ahem...So are you ready Shortman?" Phil tried to sound causal.
"Ready grandpa" Arnold said smiling with joy and sitting down beside Helga and his grandma on the family couch. Arnold was glad that Helga knew about the trouble he had to deal with everyday of his life, because she has the same problem. Knowing this about him and her sharing the same difficulty of not having "parents" is what holds their weird platonic friendship together. (That and Helga's love for him.) -)
The End.
A/N: Was that great or what?! Sorry I kind of rushed the ending but I have a tight schedule and final exams...ugh, high school sucks... Anyway I hope you enjoyed this one-shot...Two-shot thing. Lol. This took me like literally three days to type. Made with love and ALOT of painful headaches, ugh. Well, R&R! :) Love ya guyz!