Mid October Part II
She shook her head as she walked back to her dorm. Why was she such an idiot? Every time a boy shows a remote interest in her she runs in the opposite direction? At this rate she was going to be a bitter old maid with 50 cats yelling at couples from her rocking chair on her porch. Last week's catastrophe with Zack was only the beginning. She was angry. But unlike last week, she was not angry with herself. She was furious with Arnold. She hated the way he could swoop in and muddy their friendship; she hated how she felt herself regress when he showed the slightest hint of romantic interest. Well, maybe she was mad at herself too.
But this was different from last week. This time she ran away to stop Arnold from doing something she didn't want, last week she ran to stop Zack from doing something she wanted. Damn Arnold for ruining everything. She was moving on, realizing he wouldn't ever want her and he had to up and flirt? Did he enjoy messing with her mind and sending her in a tailspin? She sighed rubbing her hands together and jamming them in her jacket pockets to combat the October chill. She knew now, without a shadow of a doubt she could never flirt with Arnold, never see him as anything but a friend. It would be like constantly picking the scab off a wound. It could never heal properly.
Finally reaching her dorm didn't improve her mood at all. Because now she had to find something to wear to the game. Something that would make Zack take notice without it looking like she was trying to impress him. Gah! She hated this; hated trying to anticipate someone else's feelings. Zack was a mystery. Arnold was always so transparent. She probably blew everything out of proportion and he was probably a little lonely after the Casey situation. She could just call Arnold later apologize for being weird and they'd forget it and move on. But Zack? He was uncharted territory and although this was all giving her a headache, she had to admit it was…exciting. Deciding to follow her new mantra to just focus on being herself, she took a shower and went for comfort: a worn in pair of jeans, her black sneakers and a sweater topped off with her black leather jacket. Her hair was in a simple side swept ponytail and her makeup was non-existent. Without the worry she was ready to head to the arena in 30 minutes.
She sat in the seats and smirked at how excited everyone was. So this is what she missed in high school?
Looking in her row she noticed how many girls were there. How many giggling girls were whispering about Zack; how many girls were holding up ticket stubs from the game gushing about how Zack personally gave the ticket to them. Really? She leaned forward in her chair ready to leave. Of course he gave other girls tickets. She was deluding herself thinking she was special to him. She turned when she heard an older woman mumble something. "I'm sorry ma'am, what did you say?"
The woman looked up at Helga, surprised someone heard her. "I said I can't believe Zack brought all his groupies tickets. That boy's a certified man whore."
Helga laughed at the woman's statement and settled back into her seat. She could sit there like all of Zack's other guests. Besides they were just friends and she was enjoying talking to this lady.
"From the looks of things you seem a little lost."
Helga quirked her brows. "Excuse me?"
"You're not the usual brand of skank I see around here. What's your name honey?"
She smiled and turned to the dark aired woman. "Helga."
"Helga huh? I like it. It's strong. My name's Rita. It's nice to meet you." The woman looked up from her crocheting and offered Helga a warm smile.
"Nice to meet you too, but I don't belong here. I think I should be heading home." Despite the kind lady she was feeling extremely uncomfortable and awkward, so she wanted to do what she had been doing the past few weeks when she was forced out of her comfort zone…run.
Rita grabbed Helga's wrist softly. "No you have to stay. You're the only one around who can string meaningful sentences together and can keep me company against Zack's harem." She pointed at the vapid girls and laid a pleading eye on Helga.
Helga sighed, Rita was good. She must have been a mother because she was a master at the whole mom guilt thing. "I'll stay for the first quarter."
One quarter turned into two as her new friend and her traded recipes and discussed her first semester at college. She even showed Helga some basics about crocheting during halftime which were easy to pick up given her childhood needle-pointing experience learned from Inga. In short, Helga was having a blast.
They focused on the game when they heard the crowd chanting Zach's name. Helga was never one for watching football, believing it was one of those sports that should be played not watched. But her heart was pounding as she watched him catch the ball and run past the 20, the 10, the five and into the end zone. Touchdown! Rita looked over at her and they hugged excitedly. Helga then jumped up from her seat and cheered wildly, ignoring the snide comments from the girls in her row. She must have been obnoxiously loud because Zach saw her, pointed her out and put his hands over his heart before bowing in her direction. Embarrassed she waved a little and sat down quickly, her face tingeing a slight pink.
She spent the rest of the game clapping whenever he blocked or caught the ball. She didn't want to sound biased but she was sure they wouldn't have won without Zack.
Zack ran over and pulled his helmet off, his curls bouncing out of it. He was all sweaty and adorable. Helga's eyes went wide as Rita jumped up and hugged the boy kissing his cheek. "I'm so proud of you." She began wiping the plum lipstick from his cheek.
Helga looked between the two feeling stupid for just noticing the similarities. Same puppy dog eyes, same smile. That would mean…
"You're Zack's sister," she said more to herself than anyone else.
Rita nodded and pointed to her son. "Marry her immediately Mijo," she said beaming at her son and pinching his cheeks.
Zack stepped away and turned his attention to his friend. "Sorry Goldilocks. This is my mom, Rita. Mom, this is my friend Helga."
"Oh you're goldilocks." Her smirk reached Cheshire grin status. She liked seeing her son all flustered; loved seeing him make an effort with this girl. There were ten other girls he invited but he couldn't take his eyes off of Helga. She had a feeling they would be good together and the wheels in her head began to turn. "Hey Helga we have this tradition after his home games where we eat dinner. Would you like to come over and have dinner with us?"
They got to the house, Rita rolling her eyes at the giggles from the backseat. From her rear view mirror she could see her son poking at Helga who was apparently ticklish because she would squirm and giggle every five seconds. She had never seen her son so carefree.
Rita insisted that they make their selves comfortable, refusing Helga's many offers to help. Helga sat next to him on the couch, his head in her lap after teasing him mercilessly over the many photos, plaques and certificates of him which were adorning every surface of the house.
"Hey goldilocks?" He tilted his head, his voice soft.
"Yeah?" Helga looked down to give him her full attention. Her hands were playing in his hair which was still damp from his shower. She loved his hair.
"Thanks for going to the game. I know it's not your thing, but I'm glad you went anyway. It meant a lot."
She shrugged like it was no big deal, when she could tell it meant a lot to him. "Don't mention it. Besides I had a good time. I think your mom and I are BFFs now."
He lifted his head at her teasing smirk. "Oh please no. She would give you enough information to blackmail me for life."
She laughed at the look on his face. He really was adorable. "That's the point." She moved her hands out of his hair and to her sides. "I hope me being there didn't cause any trouble with your cheerleading section."
Zack furrowed his eyebrows, completely forgetting about the other girls. "Who? Oh them? I forgot all about them. Don't worry about them. Besides, you're my lucky charm." He winked and she tried to pretend it didn't affect her.
Helga was holding her sides during the dinner, she never laughed so much. Watching Zack squirm in his seat as his mom hurled one embarrassing story after another about him was priceless.
"You can't be serious." Helga breathed out between laughs.
"I kid you not. My son came home wearing his cousin's skirt. Luckily Natalie's shirt was long enough to cover her or we would have had a neighborhood scandal."
She looked over at her friend and patted his shoulder sympathetically.
Zack shook his head. "I learned my lesson that night. Also learned I'm a bit of a nudist when I get really drunk."
I hope to see that. She shook the thought away immediately. Down girl, he's your friend.
Mentally chastising herself she offered to clean the dishes and wouldn't take no for an answer. She needed a break for being around him. She could hardly control her hormones. She wanted him, bad.
Helga watched the suds dance around the sink, thankful for the distraction being in the kitchen provided. She liked washing dishes. It helped her feel like she contributed in some way and his mom was so nice, she wanted to do something as a token of appreciation for her kindness. She wasn't used to nice moms. To moms that cared. To moms that knew their children. She always felt so alien looking at Phoebe and her mother. She always had a strong bond with her mom and Mrs. Heyerdahl was so motherly to her. It made Helga jealous when they were younger, but now she understood that having a strained relationship with your parents was just part and parcel of being a Pataki. Her father, his father, and all of her aunts and uncles had difficult relationships with their parents. The only Pataki who had a rosy relationship with their parents was Olga. But once again her older sister was the exception that proved the rule. Her parents didn't bother her anymore.
She didn't seem to be faring any better when it came to romantic relationships either. This Arnold and Zack situation was confusing her to no end. Why couldn't Arnold see he and Helga should be strictly platonic? Why was she afraid for more with Zack? It may be possible the girl was worse off than before. Helga was growing up and trying to leave childish things (like her unhealthy obsession with a football headed boy) in the past. But that's a large part of who she is. She was still that girl that harbored a secret crush for most of her life, but she was also the same girl who could currently only think of pursuing a relationship with Zack. The same girl who couldn't wait to go to another party and make out with him under the guise of being drunk. She was a basket case!
Zack watched her wash the dishes with a goofy grin plastered on his face. He looked down when he felt little flutters in his stomach. What was this girl doing to him? He didn't know how long he could go pretending that she was just his friend. That she didn't mean more. Walking in to the kitchen, he grabbed a plate she just washed and began drying it silently. Nudging his side she looked up at him, giggling at his adorable nose scrunch. He just smirked at her washing dishes and couldn't help thinking about how domestic they looked.
