Delaroux here, and man I've got some exciting news for you.
I bought a Nightwing novel yesterday 3 I nearly died with happiness. Both Dick Grayson AND Slade Wilson in one book. Blew some cash on it, but hell, it's worth it.
I've gotten emails asking me to update faster, but unfortunately, contrary to popular belief, I do actually have a life outside of writing fiction. I know, it's shocking. Some of you know I'm a freelance designer; so I assume everyone knows what the hell that means – not much of a life outside of working.
Thanks for reading as always; have fun, I hope.
"So what was it like in Firnest?" Phoebe asked curiously, comfortably nestled against Helga's side, eating a cucumber sandwich. The girls were in a little group together for their lunch break. Rhonda nodded enthusiastically as she stole a sip of Helga's soda.
"Any cool stuff happened over there?" She smirked. "Boooyfriends?" She dragged, making all the other girls giggle. Helga laughed softly and nodded.
"Yeah. Just a couple though." She confessed, and Phoebe lifted an eyebrow. Lila played with her braids, looking at Helga in an oddly contemplative and un-Lila-like way.
"Wow Helga, really?" Katrinka beamed. Helga nodded and seemed unenthusiastic about pursuing the subject. Phoebe managed to catch her eye and shot her a questioning look. Helga smiled and shrugged uneasily.
Patty laughed shortly. "Well, Helga, you really changed a lot from the time we were nine – you look a lot more… feminine now." She confessed as she opened a bag of chips.
"Yeah," Rhonda admitted. "And you've become kind of… softer. Ish." She said lamely. Helga laughed as Nadine playfully shoved Rhonda.
"Rhonda!" She berated.
"What? It's true!" Rhonda protested. "I remember what she used to be like, so… Loud! I'm soooo sorry for telling it like it is!"
Nadine gave her a stern frown. "Yeah, maybe, but that's so mean, Rhonda!" She looked at Helga worriedly.
Lila smiled at Helga, eating her lunch daintily. "Well, you do look ever so pretty, Helga." She complimented. "You've really changed! But in a good way." She explained.
Helga smiled at both girls. "Thanks Nadine, Lila, but I kind of don't get as easily offended as before, so don't worry about it. As long as we're all kidding, I'm cool with it." She tied her hair up into a loose ponytail. "Sides', I really was a pretty mean kid." She confessed.
Katrinka grinned. "I remember that!" She grinned. "You weren't partial with who you were mean to, too." She laughed, as Helga smacked her arm, embarrassed. "You bullied everyone!" She recounted.
"Oh, oh - Except Arnold, you were really mean to him." Patty pointed out, and Rhonda smirked, putting her drink down.
"Watch it, football head!" She said in a childish high pitched tone, obviously meant to imitate Helga's voice when she was nine. Nadine, Patty and Katrinka laughed alongside Rhonda, and Phoebe and Lila hid traitorous giggles before checking if Helga was alright with the teasing.
Helga chuckled. "Well, football head and I have grown up." She finished off her own drink and stretched her now shapely legs, touching her toes with the tips of her fingers. Her bangles jangled noisily. "Guess we're just Arnold and Helga now." She added thoughtfully.
Everyone pondered this.
"Well. S'cuse me, guys, I'll be back in a little bit, okay." She added, standing up and grabbing her bag without waiting for an answer. "If I don't come back, just head to class first!" She called back, leaving the group in a stunned silence.
Rhonda turned to the other girls after a while. "So… what do you girls say to a huge welcome back party for one Helga G. Pataki?" She smirked.
The other girls giggled. "I thought you'd never ask." Phoebe smiled.
"Daaayum, Helga G. Pataki. Nine years later and I reckon she's something else." Stinky confessed, stealing a nacho from Sid's lunch.
Sid stole a French fry from Stinky's lunch. "She's so pretty." He said, obviously in a bit of a daze.
"Mmm mmm mmm." Gerald hummed. "Well, she got out of the unibrow business, that's gotta count for something, fellas." They all grinned at this comment childishly.
Park and Eugene joined the group, dressed in their psy ed clothes. Eugene set his tray down. "What are we talking about?" The resident klutz asked.
"Helga." Stinky said simply.
Park nodded. "Huge change." He commented, gesturing slightly wildly with his hands, as if to make a point. "Really strange, but I guess we'll get used to it." He sighed. "I have to go visit Thad later, he has one of my CDs." He told Eugene, who agreed to follow him quietly.
"Where's Arnold?" Harold asked, looking around. Peapod was the person everyone ended up staring at, since he was the last one to see Arnold when they went to get their books. Their lockers were side by side. He shrugged nonchalantly.
"I don't know, ungentlemen." He told them, lifting an eyebrow. "He just headed in the other direction. Kind of quiet, too."
Gerald sighed. "Park, Eugene?" He turned to the boys. "You guys saw him on your way back to the building?" Both boys had psy ed together right before lunch, and had taken the lesson out in the soccer field.
Eugene shook his head. "I didn't see him."
Park shrugged. "Me neither. Maybe he just needs some time alone. Hasn't really said anything since this morning." He commented, and all the boys took a moment to contemplate their usually sociable friend. Harold frowned and his mouth formed a small 'o' as he realized his friend was right. Gerald just nodded.
"Guess so."
Arnold kicked at the ground, scuffing his shoes slightly. He held on tightly to his small cap, smiling as he touched the old and worn fabric. He kept it clean, and it had that familiar texture as he rubbed his finger across the brim.
He was standing outside of the school. The high school allowed for students to leave the campus based on their schedules. Arnold sometimes had several hours between his classes, so his timetable was a little more spacey.
Though he usually had his lunch with the guys, he just wanted some time alone today, to think… sort of. He sat down along the road and took his cap off, running a hand through his spiky blonde hair. 'Seeing Helga back after so long was kind of weird.' He reasoned. 'Especially after she changed so much.' That's all. He pulled out his cell phone, which was buzzing softly.
Hey Arnold, Hey Arnold, Hey Arnold, it bleated repetitively, and he picked it up without checking the screen to see who it was. The sun was too bright anyway; he'd have to squint to see past the reflection. He got up as he answered it, moving to a shadier spot.
"Hello?" He greeted.
"Hey Arnold, where you at?" Gerald asked him, sounding a little worried about him.
Arnold smiled. "I'm just doing some thinking, man. I'll see you in History." He promised, and Gerald seemed to be doing a little thinking of his own before replying.
"Alright Arnold, but you better be okay. Make it back in time, Mr Leroy's back from his honeymoon and the class wants to surprise him today with a cake, remember." Gerald reminded.
Arnold had honestly forgotten about that. "Aw, that's right! Thanks, Gerald. I'll be on time, I promise." He assured his friend.
"Great, see you in then."
"Bye, man." Arnold disconnected the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket.
He sat under a tree and nearly had a heart attack as his hand brushed someone's hand. He whirled around in shock. "I'm so sorry-" He began, before he stopped.
Helga stared at him, a cigarette dangling between her middle and index fingers.
"Uh." She blinked, stunned.
Several seconds passed before Arnold felt speech return to him. "Eloquent as I remembered, Helga." He teased, smiling at her.
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Arnold." She commented, and she turned back around so that she didn't have to face him. She took a drag from her cigarette and released the smoke in a long sigh. This was what Olga had asked her to try not to do. And it really wasn't a good time to bump into Arnold; she tended to talk a lot more about personal stuff with people when she was smoking than she did at any other time.
In addition, this was ARNOLD.
Helga honest-to-God didn't want to have any feelings for anyone. After her three relationships in Firnest that fed off the idea of forgetting Arnold in the first place, she knew that she couldn't possibly just push her feelings for him aside. She had loved him too deeply, watched him for too long.
But at the same time, one of her ex-boyfriends, Nathan, had shown her just how twisted relationships could be. Echelon and Jericho had been real gentlemen, but one relationship was enough to send her world tumbling down. He had been terrible, and not at all like the Nathan she's initially fell for. He broke her thoroughly, and so intimately.
Her eyes trailed over Arnold and she sighed internally.
Things were so much easier when they were children.
"I uh… didn't know you smoked." Arnold commented rather lamely, breaking her away from her thoughts.
"There's tons of things you don't know about me, Arnold." Helga replied. "I picked up a few things in Firnest." She added simply, not wanting to elaborate right now. Arnold seemed to take the hint. He smiled and leaned back against the tree after checking it for any red ants.
"… You look really different, Helga." He commented.
Her fingers shook, not that he could see them. "Really?" She asked softly.
He nodded sincerely, not that she could see him. "Really."
They sat in silence for a while. Helga exhaled several little smoke rings. "I guess nine years does do something, then." She smiled. Arnold leaned back.
"I guess it does." He agreed. "You don't just look really different too, Helga. You seem more…" He broke off, not sure how to complete his sentence without offending her.
She laughed and turned to face him. "Tame?"
He shifted uncomfortably. She laughed even more and stubbed out her cigarette, turning to glance at him. "Oh, come on Arnold. You can't seriously be feeling bad? I was a serious bitch in the past. I bullied the crap out of you and everyone else at PS118." She admitted readily.
He shrugged softly, not knowing she was watching him. As she always had. "Well." He commented teasingly, "We survived." He smiled and ran a hand through his hair, adjusting his small cap. Helga worried her lower lip for a moment, wondering how to continue the conversation. Arnold took the time to check his phone and lifted an eyebrow.
"Rhonda's throwing a party for you?" Arnold asked her, and she blinked.
"She's doing what now?" Helga was surprised.
Arnold blinked. "You… didn't know about it?" He said carefully.
Helga shook her head quickly.
He frowned. "Uh oh. Maybe it was supposed to be a surprise… Gerald just texted me about it." He interlaced his fingers and seemed worried about this.
She laughed brightly. She couldn't count the number of times Arnold worried about silly things throughout a single day. He lost his frown and chuckled softly. Both of them eventually decided it wasn't that big of an issue. At the most, Helga would just have to pretend to be surprised.
Even though Helga corresponded with all the girls in her class after her sudden move to Firnest, Rhonda wasn't as close to her as Phoebe. "Anyway… Wow. That's really nice of her." Helga grasped the strap of her bag and smiled. "I didn't think she'd do something like that for me." She added cautiously, in case Rhonda and Arnold had become better friends over the years.
Arnold turned and seemed surprised that Helga was watching him for some time. He withdrew slightly, his eyes wide for a moment. "Yeah." He relaxed again and smiled dazzlingly at her. "Oh well. She throws the best parties in the whole school, don't worry." Arnold added, in case Helga thought it was just going to be another fourth grade slumber party.
Helga nodded, "I've heard. Phoebe described a couple she went for." Her heart thumped at the sight of his brilliant smile. "Everyone's invited?" She asked him casually, mentally slapping herself.
He shrugged. "I think so. Most of the people in our class are going." He thought aloud.
Helga assumed Arnold was going then, and grinned at him happily. She then contemplated the social suicide of punching herself in the face. "Can't miss my own party." She coughed, checking her watch. "And speaking of missing… Our History class started five minutes ago."
Arnold panicked. "Aw, no way! Are you serious!" He'd never been late for a class since his first semester this year, plus he'd promised Gerald he'd be on time to celebrate Mr. Leroy's thing. He got up immediately and stretched out a hand to help her up. She took it, and he managed properly this time, as opposed to when he had tried to help other friends up in the fourth grade, and ended up next to them on his arse.
Helga smirked. "Nah. We've got ten minutes." She confessed, turning around and walking back into the school, tucking her lighter into her back pocket discreetly.
Surprisingly, Arnold simply smiled and adjusted his cap once again. "Helga G. Pataki," he caught up to her. "Some things never change."
She smiled at him knowingly; a familiar feeling nestled in her heart.
She loved it.
She hated it.
"You bet."
AWWH HELGA STILL LOVES ARNOLD. But that's kind of duh, I guess.
Next update will come soon. Ish. I hope. You hope? We hope together? Love rewiewers long time.