First off, I just want to apologize for getting this out sooo late. I know Halloween's over with, but oh well! I do not own Hey Arnold, it belongs to Nickelodeon and Craig Bartlett who is absolutely amazing! :-)
It was Halloween day and Arnold woke up to the wonderful aroma of bacon and eggs swimming around his room. He stretched his arms wide and long like a cat trying to get himself out of bed. He looked over at his bookshelf and noticed the picture of him and Helga at last year's Cheese Festival. He smiled having such sweet memories as this was their first date as an actual couple. During the past few years, Helga never really had the best of times at the Cheese festival with her conniving attempts of wrecking not one, but two of Arnold's previous dates when they were younger. But as soon as they started going out last year, all those feelings shed away when they had their official first date there.
The Cheese Festival…..Halloween….that stupid Rave….Arnold's smile quickly disappeared as he remembered about yesterday's dilemma. I really don't want to go, but I also want her to be happy. It's just one night. He thought to himself. I guess I can just suck it up and go. Besides, maybe this one might be different….
**knock, knock** "Kimda, dear?! You awake? Breakfast is ready?" shouted Arnold's Grandma from behind his bedroom door.
"I'll be right down, Grandma" Arnold finally got up out of bed and quickly grabbed his towel to head to the shower. He loved his grandparents very much and was very close with the both of them as they were the people who raised him the majority of his life. Seven years ago, Arnold reunited with his parents in San Lorenzo after him and his entire class went on a school trip. He was also very close with his parents that he wanted to stay and live with them, but decided it would be best to stay in Hillwood at least until he finished school. His parents (Stella and Miles) were both humanitarians that traveled all the over the world caring for people and making certain medicines for the ill within the poorer communities. Arnold and his parents saw each other at least twice a year with Arnold visiting them and his parents alternating to visit him the second half of the year.
He quickly walked down the stairs passing the hallway clock and noticed that school was about to start in 20 minutes.
"Morning, Shortman!" said Grandpa Phil scrambling some more eggs.
"Keep 'em coming, Grandpa! You know I like my eggs extra cheesy! A heh heh heh heh heh…" laughed Oskar creeping his hand over to Arnold's breakfast plate.
"Oskar, if you know what's good for you, you'd keep your paws off of Arnold plate!" yelled Grandpa.
Arnold pulled his chair out and sat down laughing at Mr. Kokoschka. "It's okay, Grandpa. I gotta go in a couple minutes. I'll probably only eat half of it, anyway." He smiled.
He quickly scarfed down his food and left nothing behind. "Thanks, Grandpa! Bye Grandma!" Arnold shouted to his Grandma who was dance vacuuming in the other room. "Have a good day, Mr. Kokoschka"
He quickly jet towards the door until his Grandpa stopped him. "Hold on there, Shortman! Aren't you forgetting something?"
Arnold paused as Grandpa pointed at his backpack still in the kitchen. "Oh…right. Thanks Grandpa."
Grandpa chuckled as he handed him his backpack. "You and Helga have any plans tonight for Halloween?"
Arnold put his backpack on sort of hesitant on what to say. "Uh…we don't exactly know, yet. Well, we do, but not really…."
Grandpa raised his eyebrow. "It's sort of hard to explain, but I gotta go. I'll see you after school." Arnold said as he opened the front door.
"Everything alright?" asked Grandpa. "Yeah. Yeah, we're just trying to figure out where to go tonight. Nothing serious…but I gotta now! I'll see you later."
As soon as he stepped out, he saw his friend Gerald waiting for him outside like he always did since they were kids about to walk to school.
"Hey man."
"Hey, Gerald."
Gerald talked to Arnold the entire way walking to school about how tonight was going to be a big night. Not only because it was Halloween night, but because of the "special treats" that many people were expecting tonight.
"What?!" asked Arnold with a shocked, but puzzled look on his face. "Yeah, my man Fuzzy Slippers was sayin' something about watching out for anybody giving away any "special" drinks and pills. It's just like our parents taught us…. never accept anything from strangers." said Gerald.
"I don't think Helga and I have to worry about that. She's pretty smart when it comes to stuff like that and you know I'm not really into the whole pill-popping 'thing' anyway…." Explained Arnold.
The first bell rang and both boys headed to their first period class just when Arnold noticed Phoebe walking by herself to class. Helga and Phoebe usually walked to their first period together, so this was out of ordinary for Arnold to see.
"Morning, Arnold!" said Phoebe with a smile. Gerald already went inside the classroom before he could catch his girlfriend's sweet greeting. "Morning, Phoebe. Where's Helga?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen her all morning. I assumed she was with you."
"Nooo….she wasn't….with me…." Arnold couldn't finish his last word and grew worried about Helga. "Anyway, I'll see you at lunch." He said trying to change the subject.
"Okay, I'll see you."
Arnold slowly walked back to his seat with an apprehensive look on his face as if he lost something very dear to him. He sat at his desk just before their Trigonometry teacher walked in.
"Hey, man. What's up?" asked Gerald. "Helga wasn't with Phoebe this morning. That's not like her…."
"Aw, relax Arnold. She's probably just running a little late. You know she's always late for everything." Gerald reassured his best friend.
"I guess so. I'll text her and see what's up."
****Meanwhile in Helga's room****
Helga was still sound sleep in her room drooling on her pink satin pillowcase. A text message broke the sound of her snoring as well as the loud knocking on her bedroom door. KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK! "Helga? Sweetheart, don't you have school today? Are you awake?" Questioned Miriam.
"I'm UP MIRIAM!" Helga said in her groggy tone. "What time is it?" She looked over at her clock and noticed the time. "Great! How the hell did I sleep through my alarm?! Whatever. Guess I'll have to miss my morning classes" she sighed.
Helga wasn't known for being a morning person and every once in a while, she would sometimes miss her early morning classes. She quickly got ready and noticed a picture on her bookshelf that gave her a slight smile. It was the same picture that Arnold had looked at this morning with the both of them at the Cheese Festival. It was the little things like these that always gave her the energy she needed to get up. It was the little things like these that gave her a reason for being happy. She quickly got ready, grabbed her school bag and phone. On her phone, she noticed she had two text messages. One from Phoebe and the other from Arnold.
Helga looked at both messages reading, [Pheebs: WHERE ARE YOU?] And the other message, [FOOTBALL HEAD: Are you at school?]
"Criminy! I don't show up for one morning and the whole world's worried about me." Helga opened her bedroom door and headed downstairs. She saw Miriam sleeping on the living room couch with the TV on "The Bold and the Beautiful". Miriam worked as a part-time counselor for the city's Alcohol's Anonymous while her father, Bob still owned his beeper emporium, but now sold cell phones and tablets. He was a very hard working man that was barely ever home. Helga decided to take her car that her parents bought last year on her 16th birthday.
"Bye, Miriam! I'm taking the car and heading to school now!" shouted Helga knowing her mom wouldn't respond back.
She grabbed her bag and drove off to school. By the time she got there, it was already 3rd period which was actually her favorite class; Poetry. She locked her car and quickly hurried to class and turned a sharp corner until…BAM!
She ran straight into her love, her one and only with the soft cornflower hair. "Damnit, Arnold! If I had a dollar for every time we ran into each other…" said Helga rubbing her head.
"Yeah, I know." Chuckled Arnold helping her off the ground. "Did you just get here? I texted you asking where you were. You weren't with Phoebe this morning. We were worried, Helga. You never text me back."
"Calm down, will ya? I just had a late start this morning. But I'm here now! So you don't have to worry." Helga said with her normal sarcastic tone.
"Are you heading to class? I'll walk you." Said Arnold smiling at his love holding her hand.
"Whatever floats your boat, Arnoldo." Helga smirked.
"You know, I really love it when you smile. That same smile reminded me of the picture I saw this morning when I was getting ready." Said Arnold.
"Yeah? What picture?"
"You know….the one at the Cheese Festival? Where we had our first date last year. It brought back really good memories."
"That's funny. I was looking at the same pic of us this morning, too. It only feels like yesterday that we were eating cheese sticks by the penny fountain, made out in the Tunnel of Love, and didn't leave until the lights were shut off."
"Yeah. It would be nice if we could recreate that night again." Said Arnold. They both smile and hold hands while they walked to Helga's 3rd period class. "Like, maybe tonight?" They finally make it to her classroom door. Arnold stops and looks at Helga with his warm green eyes. He slowly leaned in to give her a goodbye kiss on the lips.
She caved in and surrendered to his soft kisses. "Mmm, tonight….TONIGHT! OMG! I completely forgot about the Rave! Arnold! It's tonight! Remember?" She quickly snapped out of his kissing spell.
Damnit! He said to himself. I knew she wouldn't forget. "Right! The Rave….how could I forget about that?" Arnold said sarcastically.
"Don't make that face, Football Head. I know last year's wasn't the best, but I promise this one will be better. Besides, we can always leave early and head back to my place to have a lil' Halloween fun of our own." Said Helga with a wink and seducing tone softly running her hands through his hair.
"I don't understand why we just can't do that instead of the Rave?"
"We will. I promise. But it'll be AFTERWARDS…" Helga gave Arnold her bedroom eyes which always got him excited. "Anyway, I gotta head to class. I'll see you at lunch?"
"Yeah. I'll see you. Bye, Baby." Arnold gave her one last smooch before they departed.
The bell rang and Arnold headed to his 3rd period class which was actually his free period. He decided to head to the Health Center to get a quick massage on his upper back that had been very tense since basketball season started. He walked through the empty halls and felt that there was someone behind him but would turn around and see nobody. He ignored this and headed to the nurse's desk to set up a quick 15-minute sports massage.
"Ok. We actually have a room ready. There should be a nurse in there to assist you. Head down to room 202, please." Said the assistant school nurse politely.
Arnold opened the door to a room with only one massage bed in a very sterile, but calming and comforting area. With all the unwanted anticipation for the night's rave, he could definitely go for some relaxation. He stripped down and grabbed one of the towels to wrap around his waist. He laid face down on the massage bed, rested his head and patiently waited until the nurse came in. KNOCK, KNOCK! "Come in! I'm ready!" said Arnold.
The door slowly opened and the person behind closed the door and locked it. Arnold was completely oblivious to this and was so ready for 15 minutes of peace. "I'm having a lot of tension on my upper back. If you could mainly focus on that area, that'd be great." He said with his head still face down.
The nurse did not answer, but rather got her hands strait to work. She rubbed some oil all over his back and slowly glided her feminine hands across his strong upper body. Arnold really enjoyed this and the nurse knew exactly where all his tight spots were. She started to move her slippery hands lower and lower until she pinched his butt.
"Whoa! Hey…um…wasn't expecting that one…" he said in a shocked state. He ignored the slightly sexual gesture and put his head back down. Until the nurse's hand slowly slid inside his towel to lift it up.
"Hey now!" Arnold turned around and to his surprise it was…"RHONDA!? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! GET OUT OF HERE!" He screamed trying to grab a towel and cover his family jewels at the same time.
"Arnold, darling, relax. I locked the door so we can have our private time together. Nobody has to know. It's just you and me." Rhonda winked at him wearing a nurse's uniform over her regular hoochie clothes.
"RHONDA…I'm going to give you to the count of three to get the HELL out…NOW! Shouted Arnold.
Rhonda didn't listen, but rather walked closer and closer to him as he walked towards the window outside. Thankfully, the massage room was on the first floor.
"ONE!...TWO!..." KNOCK, KNOCK!
"Hello?! What's going in there?" exclaimed the real nurse banging on the locked door.
Rhonda looked behind her and knew it was time to split. "Damnit!" She looked at Arnold. "I'll see you again, short stuff." She winked and quickly jumped out of the window.
Arnold ran to the door and unlocked it. He opened and saw a puzzled look on the school nurse's face.
"Was there someone in there with you, young man?" asked the nurse.
"No! I…I was just talking to a friend on the phone…"
The nurse didn't buy it. "Anyway…are you ready now?"
"….yeah…." said Arnold hesitantly. After this, he REALLY didn't want to be anywhere near the Rave or see any trace of Rhonda Wellington Lloyd since he knew she was going to be there.
Last period had finally come around and Arnold was in the boy's locker room getting ready for basketball practice. He had such a terrified look on face as if he got mugged.
"Hey, Arnold? You alright, man? You looked like somethin' scarred the crap outta you or what?" asked his concerned friend.
"What? Oh….no, I'm…..Gerald…..I CAN'T go to that Rave!" Arnold broke out of his awkwardness.
"Arnold, honestly, it's just for a few hours. It's really not gonna be that bad"
"No, Gerald. You don't understand…." Said Arnold. It was hard for him to get into detail about what happened a couple hours ago in the massage room. But Gerald was his best friend, and he knew he could trust him with practically anything. He gave Gerald the short version with what happened.
"Man! It seems like you've been getting way more action than I have, lately!" said Gerald.
"Gerald! I'm serious! She's ridiculously PSYCHO! Can you imagine what would happen if Helga ran into that?!"
Gerald slightly chuckled, "I know. Maybe you should talk to Helga and tell her WHY you don't feel comfortable going tonight." He suggested.
"I can't do that. She really wants to go, and she said it would only be for a few hours. So, I'll try to avoid Rhonda for as long as I can. I'll make sure wherever I go, I won't be alone."
"Yeah, that's a good idea! And if you gotta head to the restroom, I'll go with you. Well, not actually go with you….but…"
"I know what you mean, Gerald." Arnold said with a small laugh. "That actually sounds like a good idea. Thanks. I really appreciate it." They both did their special friend "thumbshake"
"I'm always here for you, man." The boys headed out to play their last game of basketball for the month. The last bell rang and everyone swarmed out of the classrooms. The hallways were packed with people talking about their weekend Halloween plans. Arnold and Gerald saw both Phoebe and Helga at their lockers.
"I'm sooo ready for tonight! Arnold, I'll be ready around 7pm for you to come pick me up" smiled Helga. Arnold can tell this rave meant a lot to her which is why he decided to suck it up for a few hours to make his love happy. After all, keeping her happy made all the difference in the world for him.
Arnold glanced over at Gerald, then back at his girlfriend. "Alright. Sounds good"
Night time finally rolled around and everybody at school was practically there with their Halloween costumes. Phoebe and Gerald dressed up in matching Mickey and Minnie Mouse outfits, while Helga and Arnold dressed up as a sexy Tarzan and Jane. He was actually a little happy to be there, not because of the music, but more because he was spending Halloween with his good friends and the one that made him very happy in more ways than one.
The line was pretty long as everyone stood outside in their costumes waiting to get in.
"Criminy! Is it just me or is it getting hot out here with all these people?! I'm burnin up a sweat!" complained Helga.
"Do you want some water?" asked Arnold. "I got some in my….ah, damn. Never mind. I left my water bottle bag at home." He looked around to see if there was a drinking fountain anywhere in the vicinity. He noticed the drinking station that a lot of people were filling up their water bottles and/or getting cups of ice water while waiting in the long line.
"I'll be back. I see a water station over there." He headed over to the water station and got a few cups of ice water for his friends and girlfriend. He slowly walked back trying to be extra careful not to spill them on the floor.
"Thanks, Arnold." said Helga as she took one from his hand. She took a rather large gulp and threw the cup away at the trash can next to her. Half an hour had went by and they were practically almost next.
"Finally! That line felt like an eternity! Arnold, you have our tickets right?" Helga asked as she started to itch her arm, then her other arm, and then her face started to itch.
"Yeah….I put them somewhere….hold on…" he said while searching through his pockets.
"Helga! OMG! Your face!" screamed Phoebe.
"My what? Helga raised her eyebrow and took out her mirror from her purse. "AAHH! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!" she screamed at the mirror.
Arnold stopped rummaging through his pockets and saw Helga's face was covered with hives except for one spot which was the right side of her cheek. Arnold knew that Helga never got such a reaction to anything like this but only when she ate or drank something with strawberries by accident.
"Helga, did you accidentally have something with strawberries in it, maybe?" he asked.
"Arnold, don't you think I would know if I had something with strawberries in it?!" Helga yelled pretty irritated.
Gerald looked over at the water table and noticed some red things in the water jugs that made complete sense. "I think I found the problem." He said pointing at the clear giant water jugs. There were pieces of strawberries and cucumbers in the water to give it a more refreshing taste.
Helga looked over with her eyes as wide as could be. "WHO THE HELL PUTS FRUIT IN THEIR WATER?! I mean, really?!" Arnold could tell Helga was pretty upset. She grabbed his hand, "Pheebs, Geraldo, we're leaving! Now"
"What? Really?" Arnold smiled widely completely relieved.
"What?! But you guys just got here. We haven't even gone in, yet!" said Gerald with a look of disappointment.
"Yeah, well plans changed. I'm not going in THERE looking like THIS! C'mon, Arnold, let's go home."
"I'm so sorry, Helga. I didn't even see the strawberries in the water. I feel soo bad!" explained Arnold.
"It's not your fault. Let's just go. My skin's itching like crazy. You guys have fun without us. Have a good night." Said Helga as Arnold softly grabbed her hand and walked her to the car.
"Night Helga. I'm really sorry about what happened. Feel better!" said Phoebe in her mousy voice.
"Later, man. Get home safe." Said Gerald.
"Bye guys. Have a good night" Arnold said to his friends. Just then, a familiar face passes the couple.
"Is that...is that... Helga?! What happened to your face? You look like a freckled tomato!" Rhonda laughed and pointed at Helga. "Good choice on this one, Arnold!"
Helga had enough for one night and clenched her fists as she held Arnold back, then... WHAM! She whacked her right in the face. "Now who has the deformed face, bitch?" Helga said as she walked over Rhonda. She practically knocked her out temporarily and she would soon wake up to a broken and bloody nose.
"Ready, Arnold?" Helga asked in her nonchalant tone. "Let's go home." Arnold couldn't help but to smile and laugh at what happened.
They both were in Arnold's car as he turned on the radio and Echosmith's "Cool Kids" came on. "I really can't believe you did that to Rhonda, Helga." He smiled.
"You act like I was out of character or something." Helga said trying to look for her hive medication in her purse.
"No, you were amazing tonight. And I'm actually really glad you did that."
"You are?" said Helga in a surprised tone.
"Yeah. It was cool to see that finally happen to Rhonda. And for all people to give it to her, I'm glad it was you." He chuckled.
"Yeah, well…other than that, I'm sorry our Halloween plans blew. Some Halloween, huh?"
Arnold smiled and gave a quick look at Helga while he had his hand on the wheel. "Baby, are you kidding me? I'm GLAD we left! I didn't want to tell you before, but I've been dreading about going to this whole Rave thing since yesterday. I know last year's wasn't so hot and I honestly wasn't looking forward to this one either. I really wanted us to take it easy and have a Halloween evening to ourselves, just you and me probably heading to the Cheese Festival's Halloween contest and enjoying each other's company like we always do."
Helga paused for a moment to think to herself. "You really didn't want to go?"
"Not really…"
"You know, Football Head, I know we're still kinda new at this whole relationship thing, but there's also a little something called 'honesty' that we're both supposed to have with each other. You could've just told me how you felt and that you didn't want to go."
"I tried to, Helga, but I could tell how badly you wanted to go and I just wanted to see you happy even if it was only staying for a few hours being somewhere I really didn't want to be at. That's something else that couples should have in the relationship. Making sure that their loved one is always happy. You and I don't get to spend much time together with our busy schedules, and being here with you was all that I needed to make my Halloween special."
Helga looked down and smiled, "God, Hair Boy, you always gotta get all sappy on me….."
"It's the truth." He winked at her while holding her hand in the car. They finally pulled up to Helga's driveway and got out of the car walking towards her front door.
"You know, my parents won't be home until Monday. They went to visit Olga for the weekend. Just sayin'…."Helga hinted to Arnold as she slowly walked inside.
"Why, Ms. Pataki, are you inviting me inside your house without parental supervision?" He smiled at her freckled, hived face. Helga rolled her eyes and grabbed Arnold by the shirt. She put her purse down and continued to put more ointment on the last few red spots on her arms and face. They both walked towards the living room. Helga grabbed the remote and turned on the TV while still holding Arnold's hand. They sat down snuggled on the couch.
"Our Halloween doesn't have to end completely bad tonight. We can order 'Evil Twin VI' and I'll get some popcorn." Suggested Helga.
"Sounds good to me." Said Arnold. While Helga was flipping through the channels, he couldn't stop looking at her right cheek where there was no reaction from the strawberries earlier that night.
"What are you staring at?"
"Nothing. It's just….it's funny how the hives got everywhere on your face and arms, but it left the right side of your cute lil' cheek completely clear. He sat on her right side, leaned in and softly kissed the non-hive spot of her cheek. "You're still beautiful to me…." He smiled and whispered in her ear.
"Oh, Arnold…." Helga said with a smile on her face and laid her head on his shoulder. The movie was just about to start as he gently rest his arm over her shoulders. He leaned in and softly kissed her head, "Happy Halloween, Helga."
"Happy Halloween, Arnold"
OMG, I was NOT expecting it to be THIS long, honestly lol. This was practically like TWO chapters in one! But I figured I should finish it since I didn't want you guys to wait any longer. Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed it and please review, favorite, comment, suggestions or whatever else. Your comments make my day, if they're good, of course lol. Stay tuned for another story I plan to get going soon! Thanks again! ;-)
