First & foremost, I'd like to ask for no slut-shaming. I know everyone has their opinions but that's not something I like. It's actually going to be explored in the story the havoc that word can wrought on people so if you can keep those comments to yourself, I'd appreciate it.
As a human being, you have the right to have consensual sex with whoever you want. Hopefully, they won't be married (or in a relationship) but I can't cast stones. The only reason Rhonda is in the hot seat is because she was being a bad friend by cheating on Harold. That & sleeping with Sid when Nadine loved him & treating Curly like crap. Not one of these characters are the "bad guy". I know some people have clear villains in these types of stories but none of these kids are. They're just kids making mistakes on their journey to adulthood. Not even butthead Lorenzo is the bad guy. Maybe the adults aren't always so good but the kids are just clueless.
I don't want to give away the plot but I do just want to make sure you read the story with an open mind. Things aren't always what they seem & you might miss something. I appreciate the reviews & they help me know how my story is coming across so thank you MorTay3, Angeline Tucker & Nep2uune. To the guest (12/22); I actually do text this story on my phone & if the symbol is your biggest problem, I advise you to look elsewhere because I quite enjoy the way I write & I'm not stopping for anyone.
That said; please enjoy!
NJPNJPNJP
Helga sat back against Phoebe's pillows. "Lila, you have to be open with Stinky."
"Why don't you want to talk to him?" Phoebe tried a different tactic.
"I don't know." The redhead murmured sadly. She brought her knees to her chest & sipped her tea gently. "Every time I think about it, I get ever so frightened."
"Do you think he'll reject you?"
"I don't know. I push it all away."
Helga set her cup on the windowsill. "Either way, you need to talk. Stinky is a good guy. He's not going to do anything you aren't ready for & you love him."
"I do ever so much." Lila whispered as tears fell from her grass green eyes.
"Take the plunge." Phoebe squeezed her friend's knee. "& I will take my own advice. If Gerald isn't here by dinner, I'm going to him. If he wants to break up, he'll have to tell me to my face."
"He won't." Helga assured her. "But good for you."
"What are you going to do about Arnold?"
"Nothing. I'm done. I waited too long & time's run out." She looked out the window. "When I was younger, I was terrified to tell him how I felt because I feared people mocking us. Then it was fear of rejection. Then I told him & nothing happened."
Lila & Phoebe looked at each other but remained silent.
"I tried to get over him & it would have worked if he let me. But he'd give me false hope all the time. Maybe I read too much into his gestures but I know he def. played me. I can't live my whole life letting him play me. I'm back to making him my whole life & obsessing over him. I can't do that anymore. I'm done."
There was quiet as the words hung in the air. A knock sounded at the door. "Girls? I'm ordering Chinese. Want the usual?"
Phoebe dried her tears & let her mother in. "Yes. Thank you, Mother."
Mrs. Heyerdahl hugged her tightly & glanced at the blonde & redhead. "I'm so sorry you girls are dealing with this. You don't deserve to have it happening to you."
"Thank you, Mrs. Heyerdahl." Lila murmured.
"Thanks, Mrs. H." Helga added.
The doorbell rang before they could say anything further. Mrs. Heyerdahl frowned. "I haven't placed the order yet." The quartet travelled downstairs & she opened the front door. "Gerald?"
"Hi, Mrs. Heyerdahl." He grinned sheepishly. "Is Phoebe home?"
She looked behind her then nodded. "Come in."
He stepped inside & took off his jacket. "Thank you."
Mrs. Heyerdahl gestured for Helga & Lila to follow her. "We'll be in the kitchen."
Phoebe didn't respond as she walked to the living room. Gerald followed silently. She sat stiffly in an armchair. "So why are you here?"
"I just want to talk." He sat across from her.
"About what?" She eyed him coldly.
"About what happened. I'm not mad about what you did. We weren't together so I can't be. I just want to understand why. Does this affect us? Can we move on?"
She blinked back tears. "When I gave you my virginity at Rhonda's back to school party, I never regretted it. I knew the risks but it still hurt that you never even asked me out after. I wanted to know if my feelings for you were clouding my judgement. I couldn't date properly because I was consumed with you & it became worse after we did what we did."
Gerald felt rotten hearing that. "I'm sorry."
"Helga was feeling raw herself so when Lorenzo asked her out, she was thinking about it." She swallowed. "I was Team Arnold then but I agreed that we were in the same boat so she thought she'd get rid of him by suggesting he date the both of us. It of course backfired because he was quite taken with the idea."
Gerald refrained from growling.
"We agreed to get it over with but we had a nice enough time. We went back to his house & we talked for a while. About music & literature. It was very nice."
He frowned when she stopped. "You don't have to go on-"
"It's okay." She held up a hand. "He suggested sex. We were turned off at first but as I said before, we were in a vulnerable place. I felt safe with Helga there so I agreed first. Helga asked if I was sure & after privately explaining my reasoning, she agreed as well. The next day, I felt even worse. I knew then that I wanted only you. The problem was, you didn't want me."
"That's not true." He reached for her hands & rejoiced when she didn't move them. "I always wanted you."
"It didn't feel like it. I stayed away from boys for a while & only broke my state of deprivation for the skating party. I never dating Tyler but I used him as a cover for other guys to leave me alone. I wanted to be alone. I had to be okay with being alone."
Gerald never wanted her to be alone.
"When you asked me to be your Valentine, I was overjoyed but I didn't want to be on a rollarcoaster. I knew what I wanted by then & felt I deserved it. I didn't want to play games & be like stereotypical high school couples. I wanted a real relationship."
He nodded.
"Lorenzo was an experiment. He was to see if what I felt for you was real. I don't want him. I told him that after he wouldn't leave us alone."
Gerald frowned again. "Has he always been harassing you guys?"
Phoebe nodded. "He'd touch us or say inappropriate things. Helga has it worse. I don't have any classes with him & there's you."
He nodded in understanding. "He'll leave you alone."
"I hope so." It was quiet for a while.
"Are we good?" He asked. "I get it now & I'm sorry you had to see if what you felt was real. I'm sorry I wasted so much time. I'm sorry I was too afraid to tell you how I felt."
"You were afraid?" She pushed her glasses up her nose before replacing her hand in his.
He nodded. "You were the first girl I ever liked. I hated that at first. I couldn't get you off my mind & I felt like it wasn't normal. Then I realized I only wanted you. By then, I'd had a reputation & I didn't know how to treat you. You were always so good & I didn't want to soil you. But I kept giving Arnold advice on to go after Hellfire & I figured I should put up or shut up. So I asked you out seriously. I was willing to do whatever it took."
She leaned forward & kissed him. "I'm glad. & we're good."
He smiled against her lips. "I love you, Phoebe."
"I love you, too Gerald."
Mrs. Heyerdahl stuck her head into the room. "Are you staying for dinner, Gerald? We're having Chinese."
"No thank you, Mrs. H. I snuck out to come here. I better get back before Grandpa & Arnold get caught covering for me." He stood.
"Okay, dear." She left.
Phoebe stood & walked him to the door. "I'll talk to you tonight?"
"If my dad doesn't send me to boot camp." He joked as he pulled on his jacket.
"I'd write you everyday." She giggled.
He gave her a kiss that showed her exactly what she meant to him. "Bye, Phoebe."
"Night, Gerald." She shut the door behind him & leaned against it.
Lila & Helga ran to the door & they all hopped around screaming.
~WLY~
Who the hell does she even think she is?! Miriam fumed as she took a gulp of her smoothie. She gives my kid advice?! Her & that damn happy go lucky blonde over at Sunset Arms.
She sneered before tossing back the rest of the drink & getting up to make another one. Bob wasn't home yet & Olga was upstairs doing whatever the hell it was she always did. Miriam snorted. Man, did she hate her life.
As she gathered the ingredients to make another pitcher, she thought about her life & where it all went wrong.
Miriam grew up in a small town. It was a city but very small. She had an old fashioned upbringing. She was expected to cook, clean & be very polite. She was expected to be a housewife when she was older & that was the way it was to be.
Unless you asked Miriam…
She dreamed of being on the rodeo circuit. She had a talent for riding bulls yet it was a man's sport. But she didn't care. She was wilder than her mother wanted & their relationship was strained at best.
Miriam climbed trees, swam naked & wore jeans. She wasn't a girly girl & her mother hated it. Miriam couldn't wait to go to a bigger city & live her life.
She got her wish when she left for college. She loved university & felt free for the time in her life. Until she saw Bob.
Bob was this bigger than life guy that caught her attention immediately. She was attracted from the first & became obsessed. She learned his likes & dislikes. His fears & desires. His aspirations. She learned who he was before they had ever met.
When they met, it was no accident. Miriam made sure to snag an invitation to his fraternity's party & did everything in her power to draw his attention. & it worked. She & Bob hit it off splendidly.
They began dating & everything was going great. Until she fell pregnant… Miriam didn't know what to do at first. She didn't want to be a mother. She didn't want a family. Her life was ruined. They'd used protection but her life could change forever.
She thought about abortion but as new world as she was, she couldn't just kill her child. So she thought about adoption. She told Bob but he refused to hear of it. No child of his would be put up for adoption.
They were married weeks later & her college education was forever postponed. She fell into a horrible depression & resented both her child & her husband. All of her dreams were ruined.
She knew she wasn't supposed to hate them so she waited on him hand & foot & doted on her daughter. She knew he'd wanted a boy but she had her own disappointments. She didn't know how to be a mother. She didn't want to be one.
She began drinking smoothies each week to deal with her postpartum & normal depressions. A friend had taught her a recipe for making smoothies with tequila & it had come in handy. Olga & Bob never knew the difference.
It got easier to hide her unhappiness when Olga started school. She had her own life & Bob had work. Miriam was left to drink in peace, toying with the idea of leaving. She thought she'd finally have her dream of freedom when Olga turned eighteen & she could leave Bob but when the girl was eleven, she fell pregnant again.
It was the worst day of Miriam's life. She hated being pregnant & she hated her children. Even worse, she hated having another girl. She figured a boy would make Bob happy & he'd take over taking care of them but she was having another girl.
By then, the postpartum from Olga flared up as the one for Helga manifested. Both warred with her depression & she couldn't even look at her family. She stayed in bed for long periods of time & tried to ignore the hate swirling in her heart.
From the moment Helga took her first breath, Miriam was through. Olga was the one to even name her. Miriam couldn't care less. Bob was always at work & could dodge the infant bullet (like he did the first time) but Miriam had to try to keep her from dying the month before Olga was on summer vacation & took over.
It was exhausting & Miriam hated her for it. She also hated how Olga was showing her up as a mother & the girl wasn't even twelve! Miriam turned her anger into fake nicety & showered her elder daughter with praise.
It was a habit that she couldn't break but came in handy. Olga took care of Helga for her & she could spend her days drinking & pretending she was somewhere else.
Helga had stayed out of her way so she was happy but she resented the fact that she did as well. She was her mother! She should have begged for her attention. She should have waited for her with baited breath! But Helga stayed away, living her life as if Miriam didn't exist.
Bob made noises as if he needed her but he didn't. Olga was perfect in every way & didn't need her. Helga, as a two year old, didn't need her. It pissed her off to no end. Her mother was right; she wasn't fit to be a wife or mother. No one needed her, no one wanted her. So she drank more.
When Olga left for college, Miriam was happy. No perky singing or heavy meals or lessons. No Olga. She thought she would have to deal with Helga but she kept to her routine of ignoring her. Though it made her bitter, Miriam left it alone.
Every time Olga visited, she put on a happy smile & gushed along with Bob but she felt more like Helga. The habit held up but luckily it was a rare occurrence. Having her kid brag about her accomplishments & fun life made her rabid with hatred but she kept it to herself.
Olga didn't come home often & Helga stayed away from the house just as much. Bob always worked & Miriam… drank. Home. Alone. Which she was fine with. Absolutely fine. As Helga grew older, Miriam saw her less & less. Which she was fine with. As Bob expanded into other business ventures, he stayed away for weeks at a time. Which she was fine with. Olga started a new life in other cities & came home less frequently. Which she was fine with.
She was fine with everyone having a life but her.
Miriam rubbed her forehead as she finished blending her smoothie. The noise bothered her but she ignored it. Sometimes, it was deafening & the only thing she heard for days. But at others, it was soothing as it was the only thing that comforted her.
She drank straight from the blender & thought about perfect Mrs. Heyerdahl. That bitch had always been showing her up as a bad mother. Her little girl was polite, well spoken, smart. She had two neat ponytails & clean clothes everyday. A well balanced lunch. Good home cooked meals. Helped her with her homework & walked her to school. All while holding down a job & keeping her husband happy. She rubbed her success in Miriam's face every time they saw each other.
Stella Overton was just as bad. She had Miles, great in-laws (daffy though they may be) & three happy children as well as a world famous career. She'd been missing from her eldest son's life for nearly a decade & everything was just hunky dory for her.
It made Miriam so angry, she could punch a wall. The two had everything she didn't & they flaunted it like she didn't matter. She foamed at the mouth every time one of them saw her at the grocery store & at the post office. She rarely left the house but when she did, she always seemed to run into one of them.
It made her sick. That blue eyed blonde & brown eyed redhead made her physically ill. She found herself wishing they'd both die & stop rubbing their happiness in her face. It made her sad to know she held such ugliness in her heart for those around her but she couldn't help it. She hated her life & resented her family.
Her tears mixed into her drink as she drank faster to escape her feelings. She heard the front door slam & jumped in surprise.
"Miriam! Get in here!"
She wiped her tears quickly & set the blender back on its dock. "What's going on, B?"
"Get in here!" He yelled again.
She sighed before going into the living room. "What, B?"
"Where's Olga?"
"Upstairs."
"Get down here, Olga!" He roared at the staircase.
Olga flew down the stairs. "Yes, Daddy?"
"You're not the one I want!" He frowned in confusion. "Where's the girl?"
Olga refrained from rolling her eyes. "Helga is at Phoebe's, Daddy."
"Oh."
"What happened? Where did you go?" Miriam asked.
Bob sighed & rubbed his forehead. "Call her. She needs to know."
"Know what, Daddy?"
"That her friend has a restraining order against him."
~WLY~
Arnold waited impatiently for Gerald to return. Their parents were downstairs thinking up suitable punishments while Phil was left to guard the boys.
He turned when he heard something on the roof. Gerald was lifting the glass & sliding through. "Hey, man! What happened?"
Gerald didn't say anything until he reached the ground. "We talked."
"&?" Arnold raised a golden eyebrow.
"We're good. She explained what happened, I apologized. We're good."
"So the thing with Lorenzo & Helga was your fault?" Arnold was confused.
"It was both our faults!" Gerald snapped. "I told you to just ask Helga out but you didn't! Why not?!"
Arnold did a double take. "How am I to blame?!"
"If you had asked Helga out, Phoebe wouldn't have gone near Lorenzo." He explained. "You could have solved both our problems!"
"Maybe if you would have asked Phoebe out, they wouldn't have gone to Lorenzo!" Arnold tossed back.
"Helga still would have been with him."
Arnold blew a breath out & flopped into his bed.
Gerald sat on the opposite of the bed. "Man, you messed up. Why did you do her so dirty?"
"I don't know." Arnold nearly cried. "I don't know where it all went wrong."
"What happened? I know you like her. I know you won't let go of Lila. Why won't you let go of Lila?"
"I don't know that either. I like her but Helga? She makes me feel… alive. I can be good with her but more times than not, I feel electrified around her. But I don't know. It's all too much too soon. We're seventeen. What do we know about love?"
Gerald realized suddenly why Arnold was having so much trouble & began laughing.
Arnold sat up to glare at him. "What's so funny?!"
"You sound like me two years ago!"
"What?"
"That was my real problem when it came to Phoebe. Not just that she was so sweet & good but because I couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that I'd found my soulmate at three years old."
"You knew then?!"
"Yeah." Gerald got a wistful smile. "I saw her the first day playing with the blocks & she spelled out these words I'd never seen before. I thought she was so cute. She kept to herself & only talked to Helga. Later when Helga messed over her blocks, she didn't even get mad. She just built another skyscraper. Phoebe never let anything get to her."
"I never knew that."
Gerald didn't speak for a moment. "I didn't say anything. I was a kid. Why did I feel so much so young? It freaked me out so I buried it. As we got older, the feelings didn't go away. They got stronger. I did become a player. That's something I'm going to have to live with. That I played with her." He shook his head. "Seeing her with that guy was like a bucket of cold water. Did I want to watch her go off & marry some other guy while I ended up unhappy just because I was afraid of love? That sounded stupid so I waited until Valentines Day & asked her out. I was hoping she'd go for it like she did freshman year but she wasn't for no games. I had to convince her I was real but I got her. & I'm never letting her go again. I don't know what's going to happen next year but we're making plans. As long as I'm with her, I'm good."
Arnold blinked. He knew they were serious but this took the cake. He didn't know they were thinking that far ahead. "I'm happy for you."
Gerald's mouth kicked up. "Thanks. So Lorenzo better watch out. She's not thinking about him but I am."
They did their signature handshake.
"What are you going to do about Hellfire?"
Arnold's smile faded. "I don't know. I don't know how I feel about her. Then there's Lila. I can't believe she was with other guys. She won't even talk to me!"
Gerald knew he was referring to Helga. "What would you say if she was?"
Arnold shrugged. "I don't know. I think I wouldn't need words. She should know how I feel about her."
"How? You don't."
Phil knocked on the door before opening it. "It's time."
"Grandpa!" Arnold groaned. "We're not on death row."
He snickered. "You are with your mothers."
~WLY~
Lorenzo's mother paced as she reamed him out. "I knew letting you around those children would be nothing but trouble!"
He rolled his eyes & stroked the leather of the couch. "Calm yourself, Mother. Three days is nothing."
"It might go on your permanent record!" She screeched.
His father pulled a face before taking off his glasses & setting them on the coffee table in front of him. "Don't excite yourself, dear."
"What is with those girls?" She spun around. "What is that about?"
Lorenzo sighed heavily. "I want them. I asked Helga out two years ago & she only agreed if Phoebe joined us. It went well & we came back here. I thought it well enough to go further & after some persuading, they both agreed. Things went well that night but they refused to speak to me the next day." He scowled. "I asked them to be my girlfriends but they wanted nothing to do with me."
Lorenzo's mother turned red with outrage. "Who do they think they are?! You are quite the catch. Don't worry, baby. Mommy will fix this. If you want them, they're yours."