Sorry this took much longer than I intended. I got immersed in another writing project that was more for fun, and my fanfictions got put to the side. So let me get caught back up.
Also, thanks so much for the positive reviews on this story. It's been great fun to work from Arnold's view rather than Helga's, cause I just have a different feel when writing it...if that makes sense. Also, this chapter is a bit shorter. I didn't want to add anything to the end to draw away, so I just added it to the start of the next chapter.
I do not own Hey Arnold, or any characters mention in the story.
I was seated in the chair, my arms sprawled across the kitchen table on either side of my face as my cheek pressed against the smooth wood of the table. I groaned once more as Helga leaned against the fridge, sipping on a yahoo. She was looking at me with such pity I couldn't even look her in the eyes.
"You know, you'd think you would have learned a thing or two about girls by this time in your life," she continued solemnly. I'd already gone through explaining to her the events of the day, and after she'd gotten done laughing at me, she'd proceeded to rip apart all my statements apart and over analyzed them to the point that my mind was spinning. I'd never realized how deeply girls looked into small comments.
"I have learned things, thank you very much," I retorted, my statement somewhat muffled as I turned my face on the table. I ran my hands through my hair before propping up on my elbows. Helga was still staring at me with an icy glare. "What?"
"You need to find some sort of middle ground," she said finally, walking over to the garbage can to throw away her bottle. "Lesson two is going to be on how not to be pushy and overbearing."
I had to catch myself from snorting with laughter, clamping my mouth shut as Helga whirled on me. "Is something funny, Arnoldo?"
"No, I just- you're serious?" I managed, straightening up in the chair, dropping my hands down into my lap. My head was already spinning so quickly that I might as well add some more information to juggle as well, right? I shook my head to see if it would help slow down the churning mass of thoughts. No such luck.
"Serious as Snape," she muttered, passing by the table to pound her fist on the wood in front of me before gesturing for me to follow her back up the stairs. I stumbled from the table and followed behind obediently, clamping my mouth shut to keep all the little comments I desperately wanted to ask in. Such as, Are you aware you are the most pushy person I know? Or even Are you sure this is a lesson you're qualified to teach me? And the most important, You do realize that the person you're the most pushing and overbearing to is 9 out of 10 times ME? But I kept my mouth in a thin line, even keeping my breathing quiet as I took a seat in the beaten chair next to her computer desk.
"Did you bring your notebook?" she asked in her instructor's voice as she put her hands behind her back and glared down her nose at me.
"I...uh, it's in my truck," I responded, pointing out the window. "Which is at my house, because I walked," I continued, my voice slowing decreasing in volume under her stare. She sighed heavily, crossing her arms over her chest. I felt like she was trying to melt the flesh off of my face. Maybe ballet made people violent, I wouldn't know. "It's not like I have to take notes," I added, shrugging. It's not like I couldn't remember what she told me.
Helga frowned, but she finally nodded reluctantly. "Alright. If you say you can remember, I'll trust you. I, on the other hand, have a much better time organizing my thoughts on paper," she stated, pulling a binder from her backpack near the door of her bedroom. "First things first-"
"OLGA!" a voice came tearing through the house. I watched as Helga froze almost instantly, blanching for a moment before crying, "IT'S HELGA! HELGA!"
"Get down stairs NOW!"
"Don't…touch anything," she said in a mutter before exiting the room. I just nodded in reply, not sure what I was supposed to do until she got back. I pulled my foot up to my knee to cross my legs, but that felt awkward so I tried to lean back and wait. That didn't work well either since the chair had no give in the back and I was merely leaning on hard wood. I figured I could walk around her room, that couldn't be against her rules of don't touch anything. I was just going to look, not touch. Nodding in resolve, I pushed myself up and started with the tall, white bookcase in the corner. It was crammed full of not only books, but random action figures and photographs as well. I leaned forward to scan the titles and toys at a better angle. I'd show Helga how much attention I could devote to something: I could pick up on little hints. I bet this bookshelf held a whole trove of information about Helga no one else had any idea about.
The top shelf held books collected over the years of High School summers filled with dreaded summer readings. She had more books that I had, I noticed, so she must have taken the advanced courses as well. Okay, so I had that fact down. I suddenly had an idea, quickly making my way to the desk and picking up the sheet of paper Helga had pulled from the notebook. I dared a glance downstairs, but I saw no one. I could just make out the sound of voices, but I couldn't understand anything they were saying. Besides, eavesdropping was rude, wasn't it? I borrowed a pen from the cup of them on the computer desk and scribbled "Advanced English Courses" on the first line of the paper before heading back over to the bookcase. Okay, what else gave me some information about Helga I didn't know? I scanned the second row, which was filled with – my eyes grew wide as I read the titles. Romance novels. Helga G. Pataki had rows on rows of romance novels as I continued to scan. Sure, some were adventure stories I recognized and some were fantasy stories from the looks of the spine, but she still had an expansive mass of romance stories. I quickly scribbled that down on my list. I never would have guessed that. I shook my head in amazement, turning now to the toys and photos. Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Harley Quinn – okay, so she had a lot of superhero stuff, which I added to my list. Next I surveyed photos, which were mainly of Helga and Phoebe engaging in typical activities such as the beach, amusement parks, parties, and so forth. A few photos were from birthdays a past, and one particular photo look to be Helga in one of her ballet costumes. She was actually laughing in the picture, looking like she was really enjoying herself. It almost didn't look like Helga with how lit up her face seemed. I reached out to pick up the picture, bringing it closer to my face. She was wearing a fitted purple dress with one expansively puffy bottom, her long legs seeming to go on forever before disappearing beneath it. I was actually looking forward to her show; it seemed dancing brought out a whole new side to Helga. I was now crouched, finishing up my search up the shelf when the last section of books caught my eye. There was a large of number of volumes, multiple colors, though predominantly pink, with Poems by Helga G. Pataki written neatly with permanent marker on the spines. Near the bottoms were roman numerals to dictate the order, I assumed.
I'll admit, I really wanted to look inside of one extremely badly. But Helga had told me not to touch anything, and she would be kind of upset to find me snooping through her books, and her personal poems at that. But what would one peek hurt, right? I mean, what would be the harm of me peeking at just one? I'd tell her of course, I wouldn't just spy like that and not fess up. If I admitted to my faults then it wouldn't be as bad. Resolute on my plan of action, I selected the first volume. What better place to start than at the beginning? I was just cracking it open when Helga's voice shrilly ripped into my eardrums.
"What do you think you're doing!?" She cried, swooping down on me with a vengeance. I quickly turned to throw my hands up in surrender, shielding my face at the same time.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to read some of the poems!"
She froze mid-step when she saw what was in my hand, her expression suddenly frightened as she realized what book it was I was holding. In a wobbly whisper, she inquired, "Did you read any of it?"
"No, I didn't, I promise," I assured her, lowering my arms just enough so I could see her clearly. "I was going to look, but I didn't."
"Put it back." It was a forceful enough whisper to make me obey without any hesitation. I hastily slid it back onto the shelf, pushing myself up from off the floor. "What part of don't touch anything was too complicated for you?" Helga pressed on, once again crossing her arms over her chest and directing her attention to the floor. She shuffled her feet for a minute before going to sit back at her vanity, but not before I had seen it.
"Helga, what happened to your arm?" I asked quietly, taking a step closer to her. On her upper arm, I could already see the neat, dark row of circles forming. Four distinct finger marked bruises were just starting to form.
"Nothing happened to my arm. Just go sit down already if you expect me to help you tonight," she countered, not bothering to look at me as she gestured for me to go sit back down in the chair I had been previously inhabiting.
"Helga, you don't have to lie, I can see them," I continued gently, hesitantly reaching out to touch her shoulder. She didn't flinch away like I thought she would, so I took another step closer. "Does this happen often?"
"It's not what you're thinking it is," she said in a measure voice, and I could feel her pushing her shoulders back proudly beneath my palm. "I…I tripped, and he grabbed my arm to pull me back up. It was harder than he meant to."
"Let me see the other arm."
"What for?"
"Helga, let me see your other arm," I pressed, reaching over to get a better look at her other arm. This time she did wrench away from me, bolting from the seat to angle her body away from me. "You need to go home," she said darkly, meeting my eyes with a cold stare. For a moment, my mouth fell open.
"I- Helga, you can talk to me, I promise," I said in my go to comfort tone. I held open my arms in a gesture of friendship, but she made no more to come into them. With a deep breath, I moved forward to envelope her in a hug. I felt her go rigid the moment I touched her, and once again she shrugged away from me with a snarl.
"I don't need to talk to anyone, football head," she snapped at me, "There's nothing wrong here. I'm a big girl and I can help myself. I'm not broken, and I certainly don't need your pity party." She took me forcefully by the arm and led me to the bedroom door, pushing me out onto the landing. "Go back home."
"But what about lesson two?" I babbled, struggling to regain my footing as I backed into the railing. Her eyes widened incredulously, and she gave a dark laugh.
"What about lesson two? I'll give you lesson two when I'm ready to give you lesson two. Heaven forbid your sweet little princess has to wait a day or so more before you learn new tricks to woo her. How about this for a lesson one and a half then, alright? Stay out of personal matters that don't concern you and go home."
I flinched as she slammed the bedroom door in my face. She could give me all the excuses she wanted, but I wasn't going to believe them. After all, lesson one had been pay attention to little details, right? And that little detail on her arm might be part of a much bigger problem. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small list I had meant to show her about the things I had gathered, but even that list seemed inadequate now. I still knew almost nothing about the girl on the other side of the door.
With a sigh, I walked up to the door as close as I could. "Night, Helga. I'll see you tomorrow. Sweet dreams, okay?" I said gently, waiting a moment to see if she would grant me a response. After a few moments of silence, I sighed heavily. I shoved my hands in my pockets as I made me way down the stairs, pausing once I reached the floor. I realized I hadn't seen her mom anywhere, and I hadn't heard anything out of her dad since….well, since earlier. But what would I have to say to them anyway? They had to know what it was they were doing to their daughter. I shook my head as I slipped out the door, the glow of the streetlights leading my way home.