Well here it is everyone, the epilogue! I want to thank you all for taking the time to read and review. I absolutely LOVE doing this and I'm glad other people have enjoyed reading. Your support never ceases to amaze me! Thank you all SO much.
As for the status of any future stories; just know you haven't seen the last of me! That's a promise!
(Side note): The epilogue will take place in Arnold's POV… I know some people missed him during this story. So here's a little glimpse of his perspective (from a past event that was somewhat recollected by Helga a few times) Muahahaha!
Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold.
**Flashback**
Arnold's POV:
"Okay losers, hold up your mugs and say 'I'm gonna regret this in the morning!'…" Helga and I both lowered our beer mugs and stared at Louis awkwardly "….and cheese works too." he sheepishly moved the camera away from his face and gave us one of his trademark Cheshire grins.
I let out an amused laugh, but as always Helga could be depended on for her quick wit. "Oh tee hee Louis, you slay me. How about I say: 'shut the hell up and take the picture before I come over there and break your jaw'?" she snarled, her grip around my waist noticeably tightened.
"Chillax Pataki!" he waved his hand at her dismissively, "Just smile."
I moved my arm that was hanging loosely over her shoulders and held her more tightly, hugging her to my side. I lifted my mug of green beer back up and simultaneously hoped she wouldn't rip my head off for holding on to her without her full consent. If I wasn't focusing on the camera so intently I could have sworn that I saw a faint blush adorning her cheeks. The flash went off once and Helga began complaining that she thinks she had blinked, so we posed for another photo and I held her close again and grinned for the camera. Promptly after the second photo Helga shoved me away from her and straightened her pink polo shirt as if it was disturbed during our contact. I learned not to take too much offence when she reacted that way towards me. It seemed to be the only way she really knew how to communicate, even if she wasn't saying a word. I wasn't about to question why she did things the way she did.
"Don't forget to send those to my email Louis." I walked over towards him to see the pictures on his digital camera. Louis was the guy in charge of the pictures for the frat, for all the events and such that were advertised in the frat pamphlet every year. He was working towards a minor in photography so it worked out perfectly for him to get his practice in.
"Wanna see them Pataki?" Louis offered.
"Uh…yeah right." she muttered, taking off in the other direction of the frat house and picking up one of the flashing 'Kiss me, I'm Irish!' clip on pins and stuck it to her collar. "Now if you'll excuse me I'm off to make bad decisions and wreak some havoc on the general public."
We both watched on in amusement as she sashayed through the throngs of people until she was out of sight. "I don't doubt for a second that she's going to make someone's night a little less mundane."
"Maybe we should get a bonfire going. That always livens up the party, right Louis?" I bit my lip to hold back my laughter. Louis glared at me and gave me a playful shove.
"My ass will never look the same after that….. Incident!" his hands hovered over his back end. "Skin grafting is not pretty!-"
"And neither are you Lou, so it fits!" Gerald slung his arms around our shoulders and leaned heavily upon us. "What's up guuuuuys?" the smell of beer and tequila lingered in the air after he spoke. It was safe to say that Gerald was quite liberally hammered. "I just saw the HOTTEST babe! She was like… whoa! And I was like 'whoa!'. Totally…. Slammin'."
"Louis, I think it's time to put someone on babysitter duty." I reached up and took the beer bottle from Gerald's hand that was resting on my shoulder, replacing it with the water bottle in Louis'. "Are we gonna rock paper scissors?"
"Nah, I'll do it bud. The night is young, and I've got enough pictures for one evening. The fraternity council tends to frown upon pictures of typically underage people drunk off their asses. They get the PG ones this time." he stuffed his camera back into its protective case before wrapping his arm around Gerald, supporting his weight so I could step away. "I'll hang out upstairs with lush-life here."
"Thanks Louis." I chuckled. "And good night Gerald! Sleep it off man"
His head dipped momentarily before looking at me. He nodded and gave me a thumbs up as Louis began taking him upstairs. He turned when they were halfway up and shouted, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"
Several hours later during the festivities I found myself down in the basement watching a group of others playing a game of darts. They had offered to let me join in but I declined, opting to nurse my measly second beer of the night. Someone had to stay somewhat sober in this house, right? I watched person after person drunkenly toss their darts and missing horribly. Grandpa bought me a dart board when I was 12 and taught me how to play. I even took that same dart board to college with me. It was one of my favorite pastimes, but I rarely played against anyone else.
Danny appeared at the bottom of the stairs, leaning against the railing and motioning for me to come over to him. Like Gerald, he too was intoxicated but to a lesser degree. "Arnold how drunk are you?" he drunkenly narrowed his eyes and began examining me to the best of his abilities.
"I'm not drunk." I paused. "Why?"
"We need a coherent babysitter." he pointed towards the ceiling. "Your girl is plastered."
"Danny!" I growled. "Would you STOP referring to Helga as my girl?" The other guys always made it a point to mock me and Helga ever since I warned them to not pursue her romantically. The only reason I ever warned them to steer clear was so that we could all be friends without issues, no romantic blunders to tangle our relationships and make things awkward. Now I have to endure tireless teasing from Danny and Louis. "Where is she?" I muttered.
"Dancing-" he hiccupped loudly. "Stripping… whatever you wanna call it. It was hot, regardless."
"WHAT?" my eyes widened exponentially. "Ugh!" I shoved past him and raced up the stairs to stop Helga from making a complete fool of herself. I finally found her in the middle of the living room with several other people, gyrating her hips in slow, steady circles with her arms raised above her head. True to his word, Helga really had shed her pink polo off at some point leaving herself in a white tank top that didn't leave much to the imagination. Her shirt laid across one of the cushions of the sofa, covered in bright green from the 'Irish beer'. "Ah ha.." I picked the shirt up and flung it on to my shoulder before walking towards Helga. It was hard not to get distracted while she was dancing, she was far too inebriated to notice most of the males in the room ogling her and she moved freely around the room without a care in the world. After a moment of watching her I recollected my thoughts and finally got a hold of her. "Helga.." I held on to her shoulders so she would stop spinning around.
"Oh hey Arnoldoooo!" her arms shot up and wrapped around my neck, pulling me into a bone crushing hug. "Lets DANCE!"
"I don't think so." I held even tighter to her so she wouldn't cause any more attention to us than we already have. "I think it's time for you to take a breather. What do you say?"
"Will you be coming?" she gazed at me from under her eyelashes, batting them in quick succession.
I ignored the shooting fluttering feeling in my stomach and nodded. "Of course."
"Woo hoo!" without warning she hopped into the air and forced me to catch her in my arms so I was holding her bridal style. "Giddy up Jeeves!"
"It's nice to know you never lose your sense of humor." I carried her through the party and received numerous looks from the partygoers. I suppose it was a little strange to see a me carrying an uncharacteristically giddy Helga Pataki upstairs while she snuggles into my neck and purrs. I knew I was full on blushing, but I hoped nobody noticed.
I took her into the spare bedroom and set her on the bed, literally having to force her to let go of my neck. "Nice digs." she giggled, falling back against the sheets and kicking her feet in the air.
I've seen Helga get pretty toasted in the past, but for some reason she seemed worse than ever before. "Are you okay?" I blurted out randomly. Her feet stopped kicking and she sat up on the edge of the bed. "You usually don't allow yourself to get so…. Uninhibited."
She gestured for me to come sit next to her, a lazy smile gracing her lips. When I sat down next to her she sat Indian style and faced me. "Truth or dare." her grin widened.
"Are you kidding?" I chuckled, waiting for her to tell me she was just messing around. After a moment I sighed in defeat. "Fine, truth."
"Tell me Arnold… What are you packing downstairs?" she pointed towards my crotch before giggling wildly and rolling around on the bed in hysterics.
My cheeks burned a shade of red I never knew the human body could reach. "On that note, I think it's time for you to drink some water." I shot up off the bed and went across the hall to the bathroom to get a cup of water. When I came back Helga was haphazardly laying across the bed still with the same grin etched on her face. I set the water on the nightstand and moved Helga around until she was laying properly on the bed. I sat down next to her on the side of the bed and offered her the cup, "Drink this. You need to hydrate."
"Arnold, Arnold, Arnold…" she took a long, drawn out gulp from the cup. "Always the Patsy. Did you have any fun tonight?" her eyelids drooped sleepily, leaving her eyes barely open.
"I did have fun." I assured her with a smile. "So anyway Helga…. Truth or dare?"
Her playful smirk returned, "Give me your best shot bucko. Truth."
"Why did you drink so much tonight?"
The smirk on her face faltered a little. "I was… sad."
"Why?" my brow furrowed.
"I was the only girl here tonight without a date." she hiccupped, blinking her eyelids at different times and somewhat resembling my odd cousin Arnie. "Nobody wants to talk to the sober chick anyway."
"Why didn't you come find me? I would have hung out with you Helga.." I wondered how often she felt lonely at these parties? Girls tend to come to the frat house parties solely to watch their boyfriends and keep them in check, not because they're wanting to have fun. Helga wasn't exactly part of that crowd..
"Is it so much to ask for a nice, single boy to make out with?" she stared at the ceiling and giggled to herself, lazily stretching her arms over her head before propping herself up with them behind her head.
Helga was never this open or brazen, ever. She usually kept everything to herself and didn't explain much nor did she ask questions of anyone else. She came to all the frat house events and acted like one of us. Nobody could have figured she would be on the prowl like the guys around here usually are.
"You don't need to be drunk for a boy to want to kiss you." I softly patted her arm. "Anyone who says otherwise is ridiculously wrong."
"You're a baaaaaaaad liar football-" another hiccup, "head." she sat up on her elbows and gave me an unsettling glare in her drunken stupor. "No guys want to make out with a tomboy."
"You'd be surprised." I shifted uncomfortably next to her. "For the record I think you're… um…. great." I slapped my forehead at my own deduction. I was saying far too much, even if she was drunk off her butt. I would remember saying all this stuff later on and that was bad enough.
"You're saying you'd make out with me if I put the moves on you when I'm sober?" she yawned and sat up a little more.
"Sure, Helga. Why not?" I chuckled. "Now how about you go to sleep okay? I highly doubt you'll remember any of this in the morning."
"Mmkay." a loud, obnoxious yawn escaped her lips as I helped her under the covers. Her eyes were closed and a happy smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
"Good night Helga." Before I could get up off the bed she grabbed me by my wrist, eyes still closed. She furrowed her brow and impatiently pointed to her lips. "Oh, excuse me milady." I laughed. Drunken Helga certainly was more blunt in her requests, and a lot more adventurous. Figuring there would be no real harm since she would never remember this, I leaned over her half asleep body I pressed my lips to hers for a quick, innocent good night peck. Her hand quickly shot up and held my mouth to hers, pressing her lips more firmly. My eyes shot open in shock, and I found myself frozen in her grasp. I could feel her grinning against my lips… she pretended to be half asleep on purpose. That little-
"-MMMMF!" I grunted against her mouth when I felt her bottom lip tugging on my top lip and opening my mouth to get better access. My mind was racing and my heart was fluttering. I've been confused for far too long about the infuriating blonde who was now currently nibbling on my stagnant lips, and this incident would without a doubt only add to my confusion. My eyes slowly began fluttering closed to their own accord, my hand reaching up to cup the side of her face. I let myself get lost in the kiss for well over a minute before I finally realized what exactly I was doing. I was taking advantage of the situation, and I was being no better than the frat guys. "I can't do this. I'm sorry Helga.." I slowly got up off the bed. "You won't remember this in the morning, and if I do kiss you again someday I want you to be able to remember it later on. I'm so sorry…ugh…"
"So… You won't forget?" she shyly bit on her now swollen bottom lip. Her eyes were still barely open and she looked like a mess.
"Of course not."
"Would you ever kiss me again when I'm sober?" her voice sounded so meek, shy…. And so unlike herself.
"You never know..." I leaned over and hesitantly kissed her cheek. "Sleep well, Helga." without another word she flopped back on to the pillows and buried herself underneath the covers. I quietly exited the room and leaned against the door with a heavy sigh. I just kissed Helga… well, technically she had kissed me and I didn't stop her. But the point was I eventually kissed her back. The implications that could possibly arise from this were potentially dangerous for our social circle. My crush on Helga back in high school had somewhat faded over the years and I was finally learning to see her as just a friend. But now?… Now things were different for me. The moment her lips touched mine it ignited a spark I had tried extinguishing years ago. And what was I supposed to do in the morning when Helga wakes up and forgets everything?
"Hey man!" Louis came walking down the hall. "Heard you had Pataki duty. She finally asleep?"
"Uh huh.." I was praying I didn't look too flustered.
"I forgot to write down your email earlier so I could mail you the picture of you and Helga. While I was waiting for Gerald to pass out I had time to upload the photos. Want me to send you them now?" he pulled out his phone so he could input it in the address bar. A few moments later my phone dinged with the new email. Plain and clear on my screen was the photo of me and Helga from earlier on in the night. Both of us were smiling and clinging to each other while holding up our mugs of green beer.
"Thanks Louis." I smiled.
I guess even if Helga never remembered tonight, I would always have the memory… that for one moment in time…. I got to see a glimpse of the person she's usually too afraid to show otherwise.
The girl I fell for once before.
THE ENNNNNND!
Fun fact: This is the SECOND epilogue written for this story. The first one I told you guys I had written already left me feeling…. Unhappy, to say the least. THAT one went into the future from Helga's POV. It was basically a campy, cheesy, stupid ending. I wanted more substance, or food for thought if you will. I wanted people to see things slightly from Arnold's POV (aaaaaaaand give you a little super secret Arnold/Helga moment!) But most importantly I wanted you to see the full circle with that St. Patrick's Day photo. Helga felt connected with it for reasons beyond her understanding, and Arnold kept it as a memory of that night. I hope you weren't disappointed that I changed the ending!
(this ending also takes place before the first chapter ever happened, in case anyone was wondering)
On another note,
I drew a "cover page" of sorts for this story, and it was colored by the awesomely talented BrokenRose24! Check it out if you want! (I'm not an artist by any means! So no laughing! Haha)
"Behind The Mask" cover art (minus the spaces, obviously)
http: / fav. me / d4t6wwk