I took forever again, so sorry! =( I know, as always, It's not very long. But I hope you enjoy anyway. It's getting close to an ending ;p
Don't own Hey Arnold...oh, woe is me!
also, I apologize for any typos...should there be any
The two let out a chorus of 'Hey!' as the held up their hands to shield the beams that were threatening to blind them.
"We weren't doing anything," Arnold defended, adjusting himself into a sitting position. Next to him, Helga was attempting to do the same thing with a more colorful vocabulary.
"Yeah yeah, that's what they all say," Gerald's distinct voice sounded. From Helga and Arnold's position, he looked more like an illuminated black alien silhouette rather then their familiar friend. The alien figure next to him adjusted the arm with the flashlight away from their faces.
"Gee," Helga whined as she stood and attempted to shake the dust from her. It was a useless attempt, and she felt like she had gained extra pounds from the caked layers. "You guys could've knocked."
"You guys were already doing enough of that," Gerald countered with a smirk.
"That wasn't us!" Arnold blurted again, his expression pleading and embarrassed. He ran his fingers through his hair as was his tendency and shuffled his feet.
"I'm only teasing ya," Gerald responded, slapping his friend on the back. The dust cloud caused them to erupt into a coughing fit.
"Have you guys been having fun?" Helga said to Phoebe as she relocated herself. She gave a sneaky smile as she raised on and eyebrow. Phoebe blushed as made a show of adjusting her glasses, he blush almost glowing in the dark room.
"We've just been exploring, talking," she muttered, trying to hide her smile as she cast a glance over at Gerald.
Helga shook her head, smirking as she looked from Phoebe to Gerald. Well, at least they hadn't been chased by some imaginary beast and - "Hey!" she whispered harshly, teaching out and jerking the back of Arnold's shirt, causing him to stumbled backward.
"What?" he said back, looking confused. "What's wrong?"
"The-the thing!" she said again, glaring at him.
It took Arnold a moment to register what she meant, but he waved it off. "It was probably just these guys," he said good naturedly. "Playing jokes on us."
Gerald looked confused, looking over at Phoebe. She shook her head to signal she was lost as well, which prompted Gerald to inquire, "What thing?"
"Oh, come on," Arnold said weakly. "Chasing us through the woods, hitting the truck. That's how you knew we were here…isn't it?" His eyes seemed to be searching for some sign that they were joking on their faces. "It had to be you."
Helga whipped her head in the direction of the others to emit a evil glare. "You mean to tell me you weren't joking about that stupid news paper article?" Gerald shrugged. "You sent us out in the woods to be eaten by some….creature!" Her voice had raised to shrieking as her fists curled themselves into fists. "Are you insane! Do you know what I'm going to do to you?" Arnold barely moved fast enough to clutch her around the waist, pulling her from her mid-lunge. Gerald had backed away a few paces, raising his hands in front of his face.
"Hey now, my story was just a legend, ya know. The paper didn't say specifically what it was that might be out here. Just some lost animal."
Helga felt her heart pounding rapidly against her ribcage, and it wasn't just from Arnold's grasp. She didn't want to die, she was too young! She had so much to do, so much to see. So many people to pummel for putting her in danger.
"Okay, just calm down Helga, it's okay," Arnold said soothingly as he awkwardly patted her head. It was awkward with their heights being the same. "I won't let anything hurt you," he assured her earnestly.
She took a deep breath, trying to contain her thoughts and emotions. She exhaled deeply before saying in calm tone, "First, lets deal with whatever is in this house. It knows we're here. Are we checking or leaving?"
"Leaving!" Phoebe piped up, clasping her hands to her mouth in a prayer position. She peered around, eyes wide. "I think it's best that we resume the path we were on. We can just turn around and walk back to the clearing. We'll be okay."
Arnold and Gerald nodded. "Okay," Helga continued. "Then what happens to Arnoldo's truck?"
"I'll get my phone and call grandpa," he said confidently. "It's no big deal. I can get a ride home." He seemed to realize he was still holding Helga with one arm, so he let his arms fall, trying to hide the action that would be attention in this obvious group. Helga darted a glance in his direction, but shook her head. Right now, she had to get him out and home. They had to make it through this so they could get married. They had too. She gave a sharp nod to assure herself.
"Just in case, let's take the back door out," Arnold said. "Something was chasing us for a wall back there. If it has made it this far, maybe we can buy some time going out the other way."
They all nodded again in unison, stealthy tiptoeing to a door in the back wall. Helga grabbed the knob and gave it sharp jerk, letting a sigh of relief escape as it opened easily. It led into a kitchen, which has another door at the back with a window that was spilling shafts of moonlight onto the floor. She gave a the go ahead with her hand for the others, closing the door gently behind them. She turned, a strangled gasp coming form her lips. She noticed Phoebe wearing the same expression, but the boys seemed clueless.
"What? What is it?" Gerald hissed, his eyes darting around the room. His eyes reached the door just as a second form seemed to fall from the sky and onto the grass.
Gerald, shaking his head, stomped over to the door and threw it open, despite protests from the tiny group. The two shadowed figures on the lawn stood straight, one standing awkwardly and the other confident.
"I should have known," Gerald said softly, cracking a smile. The others quickly surrounded Gerald, peering around to see what had happened. Phoebe's hand flew to her mouth in shock. Arnold's face flushed in embarrassment under the realization of what he had heard. Helga, however, burst into laughter.
"Well well well, if it isn't little Miss priss herself."
Rhonda was still standing awkwardly, arms crossed as she peered into the woods, not meeting any eyes. Helga pushed herself passed the others and made her way down the steps. "So it was you two making the walls shake, now was it?" she said devilishly, relishing the moment.
"Oh come off it, we heard you and Arnold downstairs," Rhonda spat, not admitting not denying the accusation.
"I don't think we were doing what you were doing."
"You don't know what you're talking about!"
"Well, then what were you doing?"
"We were…exploring!" Rhonda debated hotly, shifting her weight to one leg. Curly snickered from his position beside her. He had grown into a rather decent looking guy, but still as strange as ever. Since he seemed to have lost most of his shame, at least at this moment, Helga agreed that Rhonda's comment deserved a good laugh.
"I bet you were," she said. Curly merely shrugged, not even stumbling as Rhonda dealt a blow to his shoulder with the shoes she held in her hand. Her cheeks were flaming.
"We found some nice things," Curly added smartly, cracking a smile. He pushed his glasses up, still smiling.
"Well at least we know they weren't chasing us," Arnold said casually to Helga as he walked to stand beside her.
"What did you do, jump out a window?" Helga continued, shaking her head. "Couldn't use the door like a normal person? Didn't want to get caught?"
"That's enough," Arnold scolded, watching as Rhonda's expressions flickered back and forth. She looked ready to explode, as well as ashamed. However, she also emitted an air of triumph at having done something so frowned on.
"I didn't want to interrupt," she said finally.
They left the conversation on the note and switched over to another.
"It seems something brought us all here," Gerald mused. They had all taken a seat on the grass and were discussing how they found the house and what the next step should be. Arnold and Helga looked at each other in confusion when Rhonda and Curly denied knowing anything about their pursuer either. It was nagging at them as to whether it was a joke or some actual stranger. It was unsettling to think something was out there.
"Anyone have a phone?" Arnold asked. "We can attempt to call the others, see if their okay?"
"No pockets," Curly said with a grin.
Rhonda shook her head. "No way I was bring my purse out in this mess."
Gerald and Phoebe both shook their heads as well. "We thought the noise might attract attention if we got a call," Gerald said sheepishly. "It didn't occur we might actually have an emergency."
Helga sighed, leaning back onto her arms. "You guys are just-" but she stopped herself, aware that she, too, had not brought her phone. "We're supposed to always have them. It's expected."
Gerald rolled his eyes. "We'll just do as we said. We'll stop by and get Arnold's. It's really not like much else it going to happen tonight. It's getting late anyway."
The others nodded. They quickly managed fell into a respective couples. Arnold and Gerald, Phoebe and Helga, and Curly and Rhonda in the back. Gerald held one flashlight and Arnold held the other, trying to keep to the broken path they had forged.
"So, you guys had fun?" Helga asked Phoebe again, expecting a different response now that the boys were no longer paying them much attention. Phoebe nodded earnestly, eyes glowing in excitement.
"We talked a lot," she said, "about movies and books. Well, he hasn't read too many, but he listened as I told him about some of my favorites. He even held my hand." The small girl blushed furiously as if hand holding was the equivalent of kissing. Helga shook her hand, smiling. "Way to go Pheebs."
"What about you and…that ice cream you had?" Phoebe said, her eyes flashing ahead. It was habit to use the code word whenever he was in eyesight. Just in case.
"It was…nice. Despite all the circumstance, it was lukewarm."
"Who would want lukewarm ice cream?" Rhonda chirped in loudly as she inserted herself between the two. "It's all runny and just gross. You shouldn't be eating ice cream anyway Helga, sweet won't help that figure of yours at all."
Helga narrowed her eyes, trying not to grind her teeth. "If I wanted advice on what to eat, it wouldn't be from you," she said, the comment dripping with double meaning.
"You should," Rhonda continued, oblivious. "I keep up with all the latest diet plans. How else would I be able to fit into these?" she said proudly, showing off her thin figure and her jeans.
"Liposuction," Helga said innocently.
Rhonda scowled darkly. "If you don't listen to me, that's fine. It won't make you ice cream any sweet, though," she said with the same innocent tone. She fell back to her spot next to Curly, leaving Helga fuming.