CHAPTER 2: THE FOOTBALL HEAD RETURNS
Early Saturday morning came in Hillwood, the rising sun beaming down a dim but warm light upon the cold city.
Unlike the recent strange days, things on this day seemed as livelier than ever, as if the hole in the hearts of the city's people was filled on this day. No one knew what to make of this newfound feeling, or what brought it.
At Geraldfield, Gerald sat by himself. He found himself reflecting on life after the mention of Arnold, his once-best friend, the day before.
Man, I can't believe that Arnold's been gone all this time. What made him leave just like that, and why did he talk to Helga like that? I just don't get it, man, what happened? He pondered.
As Gerald found himself lost in his own thoughts, Phoebe took notice of him and tapped him on the shoulder, ensuring to see if he was okay.
"Hey, handsome, is this seat taken?" Phoebe asked.
"Sorry, my lady's sitting here, but you can take it for a bit." Gerald joked.
Phoebe let out a giggle and sat down next to him, comforting him. The two sat in an awkward silence; knowing deep down what was wrong, but neither with the courage to talk about the problem.
Finally, after mustering up enough courage, Phoebe finally spoke.
"You miss him too? Arnold, I mean?" She asked.
Gerald, not quite ready to answer, let out a sigh.
"Yeah. Ever since Sid brought it up, I can't help but think of all the good times we had. Sure, we had some fights now and again, but in the end we always came out for the better." He said.
"Not to mention all the people he reached out and touched. Hillwood would never be the same without him." Phoebe said.
"At least we were able to pay him back by helping him get his parents back through winning that contest and getting to San Lorenzo."
"Gerald, that was a trap from that 'La Humbra' guy."
"La Sombra. But we still beat him and helped a whole civilization of people. Sure, Arnold did most of the work, but it took all of us in the end."
"Ture, and it did bring some of us closer together."
Phoebe put her hand on Gerald's thigh. The two looked at each other intimately for a moment, then shared a kiss.
During their kiss, the two found themselves too preoccupied to notice a figure standing in front of them. Wanting their attention, the figure spoke.
"Mmm-mmm-mmm, now I've seen everything." A familiar voice said.
The two split their kiss in surprise of the voice, with their surprise added to upon seeing a very old friend once thought lost standing before them.
"Arnold? Is that really you?" Gerald asked.
Arnold extended his hand with his thumb up, promping a familiar handshake. Upon realizing that this was indeed Arnold, Gerald had returned the handshake and quickly followed with a friendly hug, with Phoebe immediately joining in.
"Hey Arnold! You're back! You're really back!" Gerald cheered.
"We've missed you so much!" Phoebe said.
Arnold, being crushed by the hugs from his two friends, found himself struggling to breathe.
"Easy, guys! Can't breathe!" He said.
Immediately realizing their mistake, they released him and apologized.
"Where the heck have you been, man? You've been gone for 5 years!" Gerald asked.
"It shows, a lot sure has changed around here." Arnold said.
Arnold looked at the field and gave a reminiscing smile, recalling happier days during his childhood.
"Is this Geraldfield? It's still standing?" Arnold asked.
"The one and only! Still standing and looking better than ever! You up for a game of baseball? Everyone'll be here soon and I know they'll be thrilled to see you!" Gerald asked.
"Maybe later, Gerald, I have some business to attend to."
"Business? You just got back. What kind of business you got already?"
"I have to see about a girl."
Gerald's smile disappeared, now showing an uncomfortable look. No one and nothing could make the following conversation any easier or lighter.
"Oh, you mean Helga." He said.
"Yeah." Arnold said.
Not aware of the full story behind Helga, Arnold began to wonder, and than grew very concerned, assuming the worst.
"Is... Is she-?!" Arnold began to ask.
"No, Arnold, she's still alive." Phoebe interrupted.
"Then what happened?!"
"She's never been the same since you left. She barely comes to school, let alone perform well, and she hasn't come out to play or talk. She spends most of her time in your old room. Your parents have been looking out for her mostly, but I heard your parents had to watch her close last night when she slept. Something really bad must've happened."
Arnold took a moment to process the information he was given.
"I'd better get there, then. I'll see you guys later." He said.
"Okay, see you later, Arnold." Phoebe said.
"I'll let everyone know you're back. Oh, by the way, the boarding house is 5 blocks down on your right. Just in case you forgot." Gerald added.
"I remember how to get home, Gerald. At least to somewhere that was once home." Arnold replied.
Lunchtime at the Sunset Arms Boarding House came. After the long years passed, the boarders all slowly left and went their separate ways, leaving Miles and Stella alone.
With the loss of the grandparents and of Arnold himself, the house became nothing more a graveyard for them, having no family to comfort them, but instead painful memories of their family falling away.
Their only remaining company came from Helga Pataki, but her high level of support makes her more of a burden than a blessing to their home. Despite this, they still remain supportive and loving to her, not just because of their good natures, but also because they knew of Arnold and Helga's love, and wished to keep what could have been their daughter-in-law as happy as they could make her.
Miles and Stella sat alone at the dinner table, nostalgic for the times when the table was busy and lively, eating their lunches alone.
"Helga's still not up. Should I wake her?" Miles asked.
"No. Best we let her sleep a while longer. We can always reheat the food." Stella replied.
Miles tried to down some of his food, but was too caught in his own thoughts to eat.
"Not hungry, Miles?" Stella asked.
Miles didn't reply.
"Miles?" Stella asked.
Miles broke his trance of thought and brought his attention to the real world again.
"What?" He asked.
"Are you okay? You haven't touched your food." Stella asked.
"Oh. Well, uh, I still can't stop thinking about the night he left."
Stella lowered her head in sadness as Miles reopened the invisible wound of Arnold's loss.
"I never stopped. I can't believe how many people feel like us; to have a life grow in you, to bring it in this world, nurture it, and have that baby leave you out of nowhere." She said.
"That was such a horrible night. I can't tell which of us was hurt the worst." Miles said.
Stella got out from her chair and sat down next to Miles, laying her head on his shoulder.
"We were all hurt the worst. No one could ever not hurt from something like that." She said.
"I hate that we never had a chance to help him through any of this." Miles said.
"I just wish I could take away my baby boy's pain away and bring him back home."
"So do I."
Miles let out a sigh.
They shared a moment together, trying to comfort and console each other's pain. For a parent, there is truly nothing worse than losing a child. Since the beginning of time, children were seen as the future; something that can build a better tomorrow, something that can survive your genes, your biological buildup; and your memes, your ideas, beliefs, thoughts, and philosophies. A child is all of these things brought together to share with the world. To lose a child is to lose your future, and to lose yourself.
During their silent mourning, something very rare occurred in the boarding home. A knock came to the door.
Miles and Stella, confused, slowly walked to the door, pondering who the knocking party was.
The mailman? Not for another 2 hours.
A Campfire Lass? They came to this neighborhood last week.
Jimmy Hoffa? Not a chance.
When they finally opened the door, the person standing before them was the last person they would ever expect to appear again, and nothing could have prepared them for who was there, but there are no words in any spoken language that could describe their immense joy.
Arnold stood in the doorway, giving a bittersweet smile as he looked at his parents, who themselves gave happy and disbelieving smiles right back towards him.
"Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. I missed you." Arnold said.
Tears were in all their eyes, their eyes pouring out years of pain to make room for these short but precious moments of reunity. Miles and Stella, shedding all hesitation, immediately grabbed Arnold and gave him a loving hug, with his mother drowning him in kisses. All the time, the parents and the son laughed happily, sharing a joy never known to them for years.
When their moment of ecstasy and euphoria passed, the three sat on the couch, needing to stop and remember to breathe.
"Oh, baby, we missed you so much." Stella cried.
"Where on Earth have you been all this time?" Miles asked.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Arnold replied.
"Please tell us honey, we want to know everything that happened." Stella said.
"San Lorenzo. To the city of the Green Eyed People."
"The city of the Green Eyed People? For five whole years?" Miles asked.
"After... what happened, I couldn't stand to be here for a second longer. San Lorenzo is technically the only other home I have, being born there, so I stayed there for all that time. While I was there, I became curious as to my place in their culture, staying longer, and I began to study their mythology, their ways, their..."
Arnold stopped in the middle of his speech, realizing he let himself get sidetracked too long. As much as he loved his parents, there was a more important mission to accomplish, and only one person inside his mind.
"Helga! Where's Helga? I have to see her!" He said.
Miles and Stella looked at each other, uncertain upon how to address what needed addressing to their son. Things grew very bad after Arnold left, and last night things got even more worse.
"Helga's in your old room. We let her spend the night after... we found something." Stella said.
"What did you find?" Arnold asked.
Miles looked to Stella, as if to seek permission to speak the news. Stella, uncertain but willing, gave Miles his cue to tell Arnold.
"A gun. She was going to shoot herself." Miles said.
Arnold, not expecting such terrible news as that, was stuck in a state of shock for the woman he loved.
"What?! Why would she do that?!" He asked.
"She can't live without you, Arnold. She's been staying in your room almost everyday for the past five years, trying to hold on to you as much as she could. We tried to get her help, but nothing worked." Stella said.
"She loves you more than you'll ever know, Arnold. Maybe even more than we do." Miles said.
"But... she was going to kill herself. She could have died... and... and it's all my fault." Arnold said.
Arnold started to tear up, feeling innumerable guilt under the belief that Helga's would-be death was his doing, believing that he almost killed her due to his own actions.
His parents, quick to comfort him, hushed him and dried his tears, erasing his feelings of guilt.
"No, no, no, Arnold. It was not your fault. It was no one's fault. You had a problem and she had a problem, and you each had different ways of working them out." Stella said.
His feelings of guilt beridden and a clear sense of action, Arnold knew what had to be done next.
"Then I'd better fix this problem." He said.
Arnold got off the couch and walked up to his old room, rushing to be the prince ready to save his princess.
Stella went to follow him, but Miles held her back, not wanting either of them to interfere with their son's love affairs.
"He wants to do this alone." Miles said.
"How do you know?" Stella asked.
"Because I would."
As Arnold entered his room, he saw his room as he last knew it turned into a shrine dedicated to him. Poems about him covered the walls, his belongings propped up like idols, and a life-size clay replica of him in the center of the room. He knew Helga loved him, but he had no idea it had actually gone this far.
He noticed Helga sleeping in his bed. Before he woke her, he decided to look around at her handiwork on his room.
Curious, Arnold picked up a notebook from a shelf and had begun to read the poems. While reading the poems, he realized that they began to sound very familiar. They were the same poems from the pink poem book about him that he found back in the 4th grade. That was why Helga was so desperate to get it from him.
Placing down the notebook to overcome his revelation, he noticed a board marked 'GREATEST FAILURES' and on it was the note from the girl named Cecile. Not the true Cecile that he had been pen pals with, but the impostor Cecile that he had dated that Valentine's Day at Chez Paris. That was Helga, and he never realized it.
Finally, his revelations grew and burned inside his mind. Upon all these instances, it was Helga that had these feelings for him. She really loved him that much, and she was so terrified to admit it. All the dots lined up.
To add insult to injury, he realized that her confession atop the FTi tower years ago was genuine. He was too blind to see it.
All this time, I never got it. Am I really just an idiot?! How did I not see any of this?! I would have never went off like that if Helga's heart really went this deep. If only I'd known it sooner. He thought.
He heard a slight moan from his bed, elicited during Helga's sleeping state.
Finally deciding to do what he needed to do, Arnold approached Helga, looking at her in his bed.
Helga laid in his bed in a fetal position, despite being sufficiently covered by the blankets. Her eyelids glistened with reflected light, showing the tears from the night before.
Finally, Arnold decided to wake her, lightly shaking her shoulder. As Helga woke up, her first sight was Arnold's face looking right at her.
Unsure if she was still dreaming, she found herself in a state of disbelief.
"Ar-Arnold...? Is this a dream?" Helga asked groggily.
"No, Helga, I'm right here. And this time, I'm not going anywhere." Arnold said.
Arnold kneeled next to the bed, holding Helga's hand in his own.
Helga, realizing she was no longer dreaming and her beloved had finally returned, had become extremely elated.
"Arnold!" She yelled.
Her cry of joy for her only love showed more happiness than anything she had ever once said in years.
Not wasting any time, Helga immediately jumped on Arnold and began kissing him passionately, sticking her tongue halfway down his throat. Arnold, unprepared for Helga's energetic pounce, put up a struggle at first. Slowly enough, however, Arnold began to find himself lost in the moment and was happy to be reunited with her once again.
After a few minutes of much-needed love between the two, however, Helga broke off the kiss with a vengeful face. Immediately following, she began choking Arnold with a tight grip around his neck.
Arnold, not expecting the sudden change in mood, jumped away and let out a scream. Backing up from the now-furious Helga, Arnold found himself against the wall.
"What the hell, Helga?! What are you doing?!" He yelled.
"You jerk! You just come back out of the blue after five years and you just expect things to go back to normal?! What kind of stupid football head are you?!" Helga screamed.
"Helga, wait! I'm sorry! I don't expect anything, I just want to make things right-"
Helga lunged at Arnold before he could finish his sentence, bringing a light scream from Arnold and making Helga crash into the wall, knocking over several of her collections and damaging the drywall.
"Do you know how much I've suffered because you left?! How much I wanted to die?! Do you have any clue what it's like to lose the one thing you love the most?!" Helga yelled.
"I didn't realize what I did until after I left! I was acting on emotion! I didn't think things through-" Arnold tried to say.
Helga picked up a baseball bat and tried to swing it at Arnold, only for him to duck again after a short scream. Helga broke several items on a shelf, mainly glass items, but nothing in his body.
"Damn right you didn't think things through, football head! Why did you have to leave?! Why did you have to leave me all alone?!" Helga screamed.
Helga tried to bring down a bashing attack, but she grew weak from going from a heavy sleep to a full-on assault. Her attack ended in dropping the bat and falling in Arnold's lap. Helga began crying her eyes out, with Arnold trying to comfort her while overcoming the assault he just avoided.
"Why did you have to leave me, Arnold? Why couldn't you just talk to me? I could have helped you if you had problems! Then I wouldn't have had to lose you!" Helga said.
Arnold sat on the floor with Helga's head in his lap, stroking her hair and wiping her tears away, neither of them still over the altercations of moments ago.
"This wasn't something you could've helped with, Helga." Arnold said.
"Why? What happened that night?" Helga asked.
Helga began to cry less, having reasoned Arnold into talking and bringing her full attention to him.
Before answering, Arnold gave a long, pained pause. He'd spent 5 years running from this memory, but the scar still remains with the memory, despite how much time he had. Reminiscing on something he'd rather not remember, he finally answered.
"My grandparents died. And I was going to jump off a building when I heard the news." Arnold said.
"You were going to jump?!" Helga screamed.
"...Yes. I was."
"Do you have any idea what I would have done if you had jumped?"
"You would have done the exact same once you heard. Probably off of the same rooftop."
Helga was stunned at Arnold's accuracy. He knew her better than she realized.
Having had Arnold share a painful memory, she shared a painful memory of her own.
"Actually, Arnold, I was thinking of shooting myself last night. I stole a gun from my dad." Helga confessed.
"I know. My parents told me. But why? You really couldn't get over me?" Arnold asked.
"'Get over you'? I thought you were dead! Or worse, you never wanted to see me again! You just said yourself you knew what I would do! I can't get over you, Arnold! You're too important to me! I can't live without you! I love you! I always have! Ever-"
"'Ever since you laid eyes on my stupid football head'? You meant that confession at FTi, didn't you?"
"I did!"
"And that was you posing as 'Cecile' at Chez Pierre that night?"
"Chez Paris, And yes!"
Arnold put his hands on his head, his previous feelings of guilt and stupidity returning.
"God, I was so stupid." He said.
"What are you talking about?" Helga asked.
"You really did love me all this time. Since way before you finally said it in San Lorenzo."
"Since you first found me in the rain when we were just little kids. You had your Grandpa pull over then just to give me shelter in that moment."
"I don't even remember that."
"I do. I'll never forget that day. I love you, I've always loved you, and I'll always love you."
"I was too blind to see it. Maybe half of this could've been avoided."
Arnold sat on the floor, trying to cope with the maelstrom of emotions occuring in the moment. Helga, still working out her own emotions, sat next to him, attempting to comfort him and herself.
"No, it was my fault. You were right, I was too scared to say what I needed to say." Helga said.
"No, Helga. Nothing I said that day was right. I couldn't have been more wrong. I hurt you. I had to live with that along with losing my grandparents for five years. Obviously, you got even worse, having a whole shrine to me. How did you get this all set up, anyway? With my parents' permission, I mean?" Arnold asked.
"Most of this I actually made since before the fourth grade. It took a lot of convincing to your parents to let me move it here, but it was the only outlet I really had. They were just trying to help. Your parents really are good people. They even helped me at my worst. But these I've been making for years. One time, years ago, I even made a replica of you made of gum you chewed, then put your hat on it. Which reminds me..."
Helga got up, shuffled through several items on a shelf, and brought back a small trophy case to Arnold. Arnold looked inside to find something extremely important to him since he was a child. Inside the case was his hat.
Helga opened the case and gave the hat to him.
"I thought you might want this back." She said.
Arnold's face lit up for a moment, feeling a moment of happiness upon reuniting with something important from his childhood, and he put his hat back on.
"Thank you, Helga." He said.
Despite his moment of happiness with his hat and with Helga, his somber face returned.
"I shouldn't have left. I shouldn't have shoved you off. I should have talked to you like you wanted. God, I'm such an asshole." Arnold said.
Arnold began to cry, barely holding on to his inner stability, Helga shushed him to bring him back to rationality.
"Hey Arnold, it's okay. We all make mistakes sometimes." Helga said.
"Not like this one. Not like that night. I almost died, and you with me." Arnold said.
"Well, what stopped you?"
"...You wouldn't believe me."
"I would, Arnold. Tell me."
"I went to San Lorenzo and stayed there for the past five years. It's the only home I have left."
"That's not true, you're home now."
Helga put her arms around Arnold to reassure him, but it was not enough.
"This place isn't my home anymore. Not without my family." Arnold said.
"You have me and your parents. Aren't we your family?" Helga asked.
"You are, but... even now that I'm over it, it's still hard to stay here and not think of that night."
Arnold got up, unable to cope with all the feeling he had now and did the only thing that he could think to do.
"I'm sorry, Helga. This was a mistake." He said.
Doing only what he could think of to handle the situation, he proceeded to walk out the door to avoid it altogether.
"You were right, it was stupid of me to think things would go back to normal." Arnold said.
Helga, refusing to lose him again, immediately stopped him, jumping in front of the door.
"Arnold, please, no! I do not want to lose you again!" She shouted.
"I'm sorry, Helga, but I don't know how to deal with all this. This all feels like too much to take in right now." Arnold said.
"Then stay with me and we'll work it out together. Let me help you."
"Helga... I don't know. This is all so-"
"Please, Arnold. Don't you still love me?"
Arnold gazed deeply into Helga's eyes, seeing her passion and love for him and her desperation for him to stay. The house may not feel like home, but with Helga, it felt like more than home.
After thinking very carefully on his next action, Arnold finally made his decision.
"Helga... I will always love you. You have no idea how much I've missed you." Arnold said.
[Soundtrack Cue: Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah]
The two shared a deep and passionate kiss, continuing their work from earlier. They continued for several minutes, each second of the time healing years of pain in their souls. They had never felt so happy for such a long time.
Arnold reached down, kissing and caressing every part of Helga, causing her to moan at each move he made. After making his way back up, Helga returned the favor to Arnold, lightly biting him, and causing him to moan just as loudly. As they went on, they slowly started to take their clothes off.
As they continued their passion, they fumbled all over the room like a pair of drunken fools, running into the walls, tripping over items on the floor, and eventually falling on the floor. None of these interrupted them even for a second.
Arnold broke off, picked Helga off the floor like she was his goddess, and gingerly placed her on the bed, kissing and caressing her all over her body again.
At the end of their passion, they end with a mutual kiss and the two began to fall asleep together, cuddling in a spoon position.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
Holding Helga tightly, Arnold still felt a light amount of guilt by not revealing the full details of his absence.
If only I could tell you just what all happened that night, Helga. But like I said, you wouldn't believe me. Arnold thought.