Helga and Arnold gather their things to leave, it had been a long evening. Phoebe and Helga discussed the rest of her bridal party and the pre planning steps needed to have the wedding prepared for a year from now while Arnold and Gerald caught up on trivial things.
"I'll call you first thing in the morning Helga, we will finalize the bridal party and begin looking at venues." Phoebe excitedly chirps as she walks her friends out the door, "I'm so thrilled to be doing this all with you!"
Helga waves her hand to her best friend already tired for the day before her. As the door shuts Arnold's throaty chuckle fills the air. One part of her fills with butterflies, the sweet noise rumbles down the hall echoing back to her over and over, the other part of her fills with annoyance, plain and simple. "What's so funny football head? Not like you're free of the burden we just signed up for. In fact I think I'll remind Phoebe of the importance of you two men helping every step of the way."
His eyes shone dangerously playful, like a lion stalking its mate in a game of cat and mouse, perhaps not a lion but her mind was unable to see him as any animal without a gorgeous yellow mane. "You wouldn't dare." His body pressed close to hers as he pressed the elevator button, his breath pouring over her neck and filling her nose with his musky and rich aroma. She resists the urge to shudder and instead steps away from him. Another low chuckle fills the air. "Guess I'm right then."
"You know, it's really quite rude to stand that close to someone." She clears her throat while stepping into the elevator. It took entirely too long to get there in her opinion, it may be a historic building but that shouldn't mean grossly outdated. He steps in behind her, again pushing the limits of her tolerance for lack of personal space.
"If I remember correctly, Ms. Pataki, last time I was this close you couldn't think to push me away." She looks him square in the eyes to see bloodshot lines connecting his skin to the jungle green. She is briefly brought back to their time surrounded by the trees, they were fourteen years younger and a peck on the lips was taboo. He steps closer to her, his chest to hers, her back on the wall of the elevator. "Am I wrong Helga?" The smell of his breath again dazed her but this time the faint tinge of alcohol caught her attention.
"Dear God, are you drunk?" She pushes hard against his body, knocking him back several steps, "What the hell did Gerald give you?"
His face flushes crimson and his once confident gaze shoots to his shoes. "I'm not drunk, maybe tipsy. We had wine with dinner and some celebratory shots once Phoebe was out of ear shot, she doesn't approve of mixing drinks. Thinks its bad or something." Helga rolls her eyes and opens her mouth to lecture him when he stops her, "I'm not an alcoholic, I promise I almost never drink, and I don't think I've had anything besides a beer since my twenty first birthday."
"Well she's right football head, it's bad to mix shit because tomorrow when you wake up you'll be begging me to bash your head until you pass back out. As for the alcoholic nonsense, I'm a writer, I'd get my club card revoked if I didn't know how to drink until the words came."
"Huh?"
"Nothing Arnoldo," She links her arm through his to keep him from wandering away from her, there was no way she could let the light weight wander through a city he barely knows sober. "You're going to be a bear to deal with tomorrow, I can't leave you for your grandparents to handle. You're coming home with me bucko but no funny business." She knows she'll regret this as soon as they wake up tomorrow.
"Mm, Helga, you have no idea how many times I've dreamt about hearing you say that." The purr of seduction colors his voice again.
"We'll talk about that tomorrow too. Come on, let's get you home."
Helga leads Arnold down the streets, his walk is fine but his desire to wander and talk slows her considerably. What would have been a fifteen minute walk alone takes nearly forty-five with her companion. Once up in her loft, with a very amused look from her doorman greeting her, she lies him down in her bed and tucks him in, he was so tired he did not argue her. She grabs a pair of Hillwood high sweat pants and throws her clothing in the hamper. Pulling a large fleece blanket with her she curls up on the couch, playing and replaying her after noon until sleeps sweet embrace lulls her away from reality.
Arnold awakens to the smell of scrambled eggs and the popping of bacon in his ears. The smell very nearly causes him to retch, it's delicious odor overpowering to his turning stomach. He pulls a pillow over his head but is taken back by its smooth and silky feel. These aren't his pillows or his sheets. He sits up in an all-white room, rather an all-white loft and looks around trying to remember how he ended up in this strange place. His eyes stop when they reach her, standing half naked in the kitchen. She is in a pair of ragged sweat pants and a bra. Her back is to him but he can see her flipping the bacon, humming along to a song he did not register until now. She shuffles from foot to foot on the cool wooden floor, her hair pulled into a wild pony with more pieces loose than actually held in the tie. He quickly feels for his clothing, thankfully all still on, seeing her so exposed. Her body was even more glorious than he expected, the skin pulled taught over muscles that moved with her every step. He stumbles out of bed in a trance, much louder than he anticipated.
She turns, startled by his sudden awakening. "Morning football head, how'd you sleep?" He looks at her cautiously, when had Helga ever been a morning person, as if sensing his concern she smiles and lifts a mug his way, "Third cup of tea this morning, I prefer it to coffee, gentler on the stomach. Come on over though, I've been up for a while so I made pancakes, eggs, bacon, and there's some fruit salad from yesterday in the fridge if you can grab it out."
"Uhm, don't you want to put a shirt on?" She looks down at her nearly naked upper body and shrugs her shoulders.
"I normally don't, I spill a lot. If it bugs you I can throw one on though." He looks down sheepishly, afraid of staring and offending her. With a huff she walks to her dresser and pulls out an old tank top stalking back over to the table while tugging it over her head. They both take a seat at the table, all laid out with food and set for two, it looks like something out of a home magazine. "Happy now? After last night though I'm surprised you minded."
"Thank you Helga. I'm sorry about last night, like I said I'm not a drinker. I'd also like to admit you were 100% right, I may be begging you to bash me in if I can keep any food down." With another annoyed huff she struts to a cabinet and grabs a bottle of Advil and places it on the table in front of him. "I know this must be really annoying for you, having me hear and all, after I eat I'll get going and let you get back to your life."
"As if football head, I already text Phoebe that you and hair boy should look at venues with us. It should only take all day. I warned you last night that I would."
He chuckled softly, "You always do follow through on your threats don't you?"
"That I do, so eat up and go home and get ready. Phoebe has fourteen possible places picked and we have to tour them all." He could see the reservation in her eyes.
"You're not excited about all of this are you? Not like you were last night."
She puts down her fork and chews a mouth full of pancakes thoughtfully. She chases them down with a swig of juice and pauses for a moment. "I'm excited for her and excited to be a part of this but at the same time I promised her I wouldn't leave for a year, something I haven't promised anyone since I was eighteen. I never write in Hillwood, this is a reprieve from work, which means I won't be working on a new project until after the wedding. And all that means I will have no idea what to do with myself all day. I'm used to working until the crack of dawn on story lines and character development, I toured jungles and took photos to get the settings of my stories perfect. I don't know who I am without working."
He nods sympathetically, "Maybe fate thinks it's time for you to slow down and learn."
"Fate?" Her laughter peeled like a bell, "You believe in that crap?"
"Well…yea. I mean I think there's some kind of guiding force in our lives that helps us along."
"How do you explain my life then? My neglectful childhood, tortured teen years"
"Your childhood made you strong and independent. Your teen years inspired some of the most influential books of a century. Your early twenties have been spent, from what you tell me, traveling the world and doing what you love. Doesn't sound so bad to me." He lifts his fork to his mouth happily, her eyes alive with annoyance it made her look so beautiful.
"Alright, fine. A crappy start has made me some good money. How do you explain us meeting again though? We don't see each other for nearly a decade and a half and now you're in my loft eating pancakes. What does fate have to say about that?"
"Oh that one's easy," his goofy smile she loved so much as a girl came alive in his eyes, "To give our best friends the wedding of a century!" She tried to stifle the smile creeping on her lips, she couldn't argue his point though.
"Yea, yea, yea. You know, for someone whose hung over, you talk a lot."
"What can I say, I like talking to you." His smile growing larger. Her heart sinks, she needs to have that other conversation with him.
"Arnold, can we have a serious conversation?" Her heart speeds up, the lump in her throat growing by the second.
"Of course Helga, what's up?"
"Look, if we're going to be working together on this wedding, if we're going to be friendly, we need to set boundaries. We haven't seen each other in fourteen years until yesterday. I thought about you but you haven't been a part of my life since I was nine years old, more than half our lives have been spent apart even though they began intertwined. I am not the same girl who you knew as a kid, I grew up, I'm sure you have too. We can't be having these little sleepovers, we can't be flirting, and we can't be eating breakfast in my kitchen in pajamas and yesterday's clothes. We have to get along for Phoebe and Gerald but, Arnold, this is strictly for them. Okay? I don't want you to get the wrong idea…" Her head dips down, she grabs at her juice and drinks to fill the silence.
"Helga, we can't just ignore what we had between us…"
She coughs on her juice, eyes widening slightly insane, "We were nine! Children Arnold, absolute babies. I thought I was in love with you because I was so neglected at home and you were so kind to me. We kissed what, three or four times in our lives? You're making it sound like we're some kind of divorced couple."
"Helga, I know how I felt about you…how I feel about you. That's not something I can ignore." He runs his hands through his hair.
"How you feel about me, really?" She gets up from the table swiftly, putting her dishes into the sink with a clatter, "You barely know me Arnoldo. How can you love what you don't know?"
"I know you better than you think. I've read every book you've written, I've read between the lines. Maybe you're right, maybe I do need to know you better but I want to try. I want the chance at what nine year old me was too stupid to really appreciate. I remember how it felt when you kissed me in the play as children. I remember when you kissed me after stopping the mall from being built, and your speech when you were 'caught up in the moment'. I remember the first time I kissed you in the middle of the jungle. I remember how every time my lips burned and I couldn't figure out why. I know what you heart feels like when it races and what you taste like. I'm not saying we have to be together, I'm not even talking about really dating. Let me get to know you and you get to know me and let's see where things go."
She stands immobile facing the sink. Her eyes are beginning to swim, he's hitting too close for comfort. "Arnold, I don't think it's a good idea…"
He stands, pushing his chair back from the table and gathering his dishes. "Whatever you say Helga, whatever you say." He places his things into the sink and kisses her cheek softly, "Just know you can't change how I feel." He crosses the room, putting on his shoes and leaves to get ready to tour venues. Helga washes the dishes slowly and dries each item, putting it away delicately. Its 10am and she's already exhausted.
Her phones ring tone pierces the silence, Helga scrambles to get it knowing full well who it will be.
"Hey Phoebe, I know I know I'll be ready to go in twenty minutes. Arnold just left and I need to take a quick shower. Before you start, nothing happened and nothing is going to happen. He was too tipsy to find his way home last night so I made him stay here. Thank Gerald for mixing drinks. Anyway we ate breakfast and he left. I know we have a ton of ground to cover today so let me go and shower and get ready. I'll grab Arnold from the Boarding House and meet you at the harbor. Now I'm hanging up. Love you Phoebs, see you soon." Helga sighed and hung up the phone, grabbing her towel and walking over to the bathroom, today was going to be a very long day indeed.