Honestly? I want to thank EVERYONE who has read and reviewed this story. I'm thrilled that there's other HA! Fans out there still. I love doing this and rehashing on the good days when HA! Was still on TV. I truly do love this! And thank you for being a part of it. =)
Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold… poo. =(
Helgas POV:
There are no words to describe the immense feeling of sheer joy and radiance my heart experienced when the words 'will you go out with me?' escaped Arnolds lips. My cynical disbelieving nature had dissipated in those few seconds. The world was right! The stars aligned for the first time and the clouds had separated and the sun had reached my dark and forlorn heart. A barrier had finally been broken between me and Arnold after all of these years of longing and waiting. It felt like my life was finally beginning. I was counting every millisecond until I would see him again and finally say that we went on an official date. After all of these years, I wanted my date with Arnold to finally open his eyes and see the love and adoration that has inundated my soul since I first heard his angelic voice. I wanted him to see the real me, perhaps for the first time since we met. This was my chance to bring us beyond the realm of friendship. This had to go right!
The 24 hour mark was upon us. At exactly seven pm tomorrow, Arnold and I would be embarking on our fourth of July date. The anticipation was killing me, I literally felt like my heart was about to burst out of my chest. The only people who knew about our date besides us was our best friends, both of whom agreed that it was 'about damn time!'. Phoebe was delighted and she demanded a full report once I got home. Gerald gave us directions to the town lookout point, but our peers know it as 'Mount Ecstasy'. I don't know who was more embarrassed, me or Arnold. If things progressed between me and Arnold we would have to deal with more flak from our fellow peers. But until this date happens, nobody has anything to make fun of.
The street lamps around town had been decorated with red white and blue ribbons and some people had already began their festivities early... Mainly the patrons at the local bar. There was also the faintest scent of barbeque lingering in the humid air. I've never really been keen on summer, I prefer fall weather. Sweating half my body weight while walking from one location to the next was never appealing to me. I like bundling up in a jacket and walking aimlessly, listening to the dead leaves crumble underneath my feet. Weather like today was always such a turn off. The high was nearing one hundred degrees and the humidity was becoming unbearable.
"I hate summer" I held my Arnold locket above my sprawled out figure. A few stray beads of sweat fell down my temple and on to my sheets. "Oh Arnold!" I swooned "Just twenty three hours and forty five minutes, twenty one seconds until I see you at my doorstep. Be still my heart!" I held the locket tightly against my chest and let out a girlish squeal followed my a groan of irritation. My clothes had practically become matted to my sheets because of all the sweat. "I have to get out of here." my finger brushed against the picture inside the locket. "Maybe I'll go get a milkshake." I grinned wickedly.
"Hey hey hey! Where are you going with my keys little lady?" Bob caught me before I could slip out the front door.
"Damn it" I muttered under my breath. "Well Bob, I was just… going to read to the blind." I rested my shoulder against the door frame and twirled the keys on my index finger. "I'm getting my last bit of community service hours in before graduation."
"Graduation?" he scoffed. "You're only 14!"
"Dad, I'm 17." I growled.
GOD, He's an idiot.
"Whatever Olga" He leaned back further into his recliner. "Bring dinner when you come back. Miriam is sleeping behind the couch again. Be back in an hour. Capiche?"
"Fine" I hissed and swiftly exited before he could change his mind. After seventeen years I had come to expect Bob to call me anything but my actual name, and always forgetting my age. Instead of getting pissed off, I found reasons to laugh about it. Bob and Miriam are two of the biggest numbskulls that ever walked the planet. A mentally retarded goldfish has a bigger brain than both of them combined. "At least I get to drive his ridiculously large military style vehicle." I smirked.
Slausens at this hour is usually full of several of our classmates. I wasn't surprised to see Stinky and Sid and the rest of 'the boys' at their usual booth. I waved towards the group and gave them a small nod before taking up residence at the counter. If my calculations were correct, Arnold should be working this shift. One of his coworkers tended to Stinky and Sids table and I began worrying that I had figured wrong.
"Well, well.." an all too familiar voice shocked me and caused me to turn back towards the counter. Arnold was leaning on his elbows and watching me through half lidded eyes. "This is a surprise." he slid a napkin in front of me. "Extra large triple chocolate milkshake.. Two cherries?" he held his pencil against his pad of paper, waiting for my confirmation.
"How the heck did you remember that?" I looked at him incredulously.
"Not a lot of girls come in here and order a triple chocolate milkshake." he scribbled down the order and sent it back into the kitchen. "So were you really hungry for a shake? Or were you coming by to see me?" he leaned against the counter and smirked a little suggestively.
"Why Arnold!" I mock gasped. "Are you openly flirting with me?" I held my hand to my heart for good measure.
"No, not flirting." he removed himself from the counter looking a little uneasy at my attempt to flirt. "Just observing."
Why was he so afraid of showing any signs of affection? When it came to our date he kept everything under wraps, and he rarely spoke of it. I was almost worried that he never wanted anyone to know about us.. I mean our date. He interrupted my thoughts by setting a large milkshake on my napkin. A small mountain of whipped cream sat on top with two cherries sticking out. "Thanks" I pulled it closer to me and sucked on the straw. He stood there a moment longer before giving up and continued taking other peoples orders. The guys bid me and Arnold their farewell before taking off to the arcade down the street. Arnold grabbed a dish bucket and began cleaning out their booth while simultaneously trying to avoid interacting with me in any way. Any worries I had about our date before seemed trivial at the moment. Did he still want to go out with me anymore? Usually you speak to the person you're about to court. I don't get what I did to him to scare him off.
"Are you finished?" I felt Arnolds breath tickle the back of my neck. I nodded weakly, still keeping my eyes forward. He reached his arm around me and grabbed the glass, his midsection pressed into my back softly. He tossed the cup into the tub and continued on his way back to behind the counter.
"How much do I owe you?" I held up my wallet.
"It's on me." he smiled softly.
"How much do I owe you?" I said a little harsher.
"Helga.." he sighed. "Don't be like that."
"Be like what?" I tossed a five dollar bill and some ones on the counter. "See you around football head." quite frankly, I was feeling slightly nauseous and extremely let down after that encounter. So much for progress.
"Helga wait!" he practically threw himself on the counter in order to grab my wrist. "Don't leave angry." he pulled me back to the bar stool. "I'm sorry… about earlier. I'm just not used to that kind of banter between us."
"So I assume the date is off?" I kicked my feet harshly against the bottom of the counter.
"No!" he held his hand up. "we're going out so we can test the waters, remember? To see if there's a… spark." just looking into his eyes at that moment made me feel more than a spark.. It was an inferno in my soul. It drove me wild.
"Sparks.." I swallowed thickly. "…..Sounds hot." One more attempt at flirting couldn't hurt.. Right?
"It could be... hot" his mouth formed into a lopsided grin. "This is still weird" he chuckled.
"Do you think it's easy for me either?" I smirked, glancing at my watch. "Ugh.. Look, I need to go. Big Bob is food deprived, and it could get ugly if he doesn't eat soon." I stood up. "Thanks for the milkshake football head, it's been a slice."
"Don't forget your money!" he pointed to the bills on the counter. I returned the counter and grabbed the ones, leaving the five. His hand landed on top of mine, halting me. "And Helga?" he leaned in closer. "For the record?… I was flirting with you earlier." he released my hand. "Pick you up at seven tomorrow?"
My body remained paralyzed for a moment. If I didn't know any better, I could swear that my heart was visibly pounding through my chest. My love was flirting with me in a public setting. It wasn't a fantasy! A small sigh of contentment escaped my lips before I could stop it. He raised an eyebrow at me curiously. "Tomorrow" I pushed the door open.
"Bye" he winked, sending me further into my crippling state of euphoria.
(**The Next Day**)
"I'M DYING! I'M DYING! HOLY CRAP I'M DYING!" I rocked back and forth on the floor of my closet. "I…. AM…. DYING!"
"Helga! Calm down" Phoebe pressed a paper bag up to my mouth. "Breathe!" I grabbed the bag and began breathing rapidly. My best friend since childhood took a seat next to me in the closet and offered a friendly pat on the back. "You gotta calm down Helga." she continued to pat my back.
"I've practically waited my whole life for this" I tossed the bag in front of us. "I'm freaking out Phoebs… this is really happening!"
Arnold had called around five o'clock and made sure we were still on for today. Until that point, I had been somewhat stoic but after hearing his voice I lost my Zen. I began pacing around my room and freaking out. I phoned Phoebe and begged her to come over and keep me from going insane, which leads us to our current situation. My hair and clothes were disheveled and my body was unable to stop shaking. I seriously felt like I was having a nervous breakdown.
"You're putting too much pressure on yourself." she squeezed my shoulder. "This date isn't supposed to give you an aneurism. You need to go with the flow… be yourself. You need to keep reminding yourself you're the right girl for him"
I let out a long drawn out sigh. "Thanks Phoebs. I needed to hear that… I just hope he'll feel the same way! If this date doesn't make sparks fly between us.. Then it'll be over. I'll have wasted my one and only chance!" I found my balance and managed to stand up again. "What am I supposed to do? I can't make him fall in love with me!"
"I know.." she brushed her pants off while getting to her feet. "But he wouldn't have asked you out tonight if he didn't feel something for you. He's just trying to figure it out."
"I need to pull out all the stops." I began flinging clothes around the room. "Whatever it takes, right?" I grabbed a pair of shorts and continued digging through my clothes.
"That's not what I meant.." she dodged a flying t-shirt and grabbed my wrist. "Tonight is your opportunity to show him the real you. No inhibitions.. No expectations. Just you and him."
"What if he doesn't like the real me?" I cradled my arm to my chest.
"Give him a chance to decide for himself. Arnold is a good guy Helga… He's going to love the real you."
"I can only hope.." I sighed. My nerves were raw and I felt like I was going to be sick. Knowing the impact tonight was going to have on the rest of my life was making me deathly afraid. This one date meant everything to me.
After another half an hour of fretting, I let Phoebe go home so I could finish getting ready. I tried toning down my outfit so it wouldn't seem like I was trying so hard, I wore plain shorts and a t-shirt. My hair remained in low riding pigtails and my old pink bow was tied on top of my head. I sat on the edge of my bed and watched the clock intently. Each passing second felt like a lifetime.. 6:50... 51.…52.…53... My nails were becoming practically nonexistent. The sound of a car pulling up to our curb caused me to shoot up from my bed and check the window.
"Arnold." I cooed. As if on cue, his gaze traveled to the window. We exchanged small waves before I took off to the stairs so Bob wouldn't answer the door. "Later Bob!" I shouted on my way out the door, crashing into Arnold in the process. "Ow" my palm rubbed the side of my head. "Sorry.."
"Where's the fire?" he mimicked my actions and rubbed his head "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine.." I finished closing the front door behind me. "I just didn't want Bob to embarrass me. He's not over my breakup with Wolfgang quite yet." I snickered. At the mention of Wolfgang he looked a little uneasy. "He's the only one who hasn't let it go." I assured.
"Here" he held out a single red rose, it was nearly as red as he was becoming.
"Thank you.." I bit my lip to hold back a squeal of excitement. "It's beautiful."
"Your welcome." he shifted awkwardly. "So um… are you ready to go?"
Yes my love… I'd follow you anywhere.
"Yep.." my mind continued to race when I got in his car. Arnold actually got me a flower… and he was just as nervous as I was! oh… I think I might die. "So where to Arnold?" I kept my clammy hands in my lap, afraid I might grab him and never let him go.
"I managed to get tickets to the firework show later on tonight at the harbor." he grinned.
"Those have been sold out for weeks!"
"My grandparents offered me theirs. Grandma still thinks its Thanksgiving today, so she didn't mind missing out on the fireworks." his gaze met mine and we both instantly looked away awkwardly. "And since this is a date.. I figured we could go to dinner."
Why was this so weird for both of us? We've hung out before with no problem. The tension between the two of us was intoxicating us both into submission. The silence was almost deafening. Just as I was about to break the silence, the car came to a halt. "Slausens?" I looked at him awkwardly. "You're taking me to Slausens?"
"Come on." he went around the car and opened my door before grabbing my wrist. Instead of going in the front doors, he took me around to the alley entrance. We went through another service door and up a flight of stairs.
"Where are we going? The food is downst-" my rant was cut short when I ran into him face first for the second time that night.
"Close your eyes.." He grabbed my hands and placed them over my eyes. "No peeking."
During my blindness his hand rested along the small of my back, pushing me forward. I took extra caution with each step I took, I was completely clueless to where he was leading me. After a few clicking sounds, and door hinges squeaking he warned me to watch my step and led me down another step. I was met with a warm gush of wind against my bare arms.
"Okay.. You can open your eyes." He stood behind me and removed my hands from my eyes.
Once my eyes adjusted to being uncovered I was able to gather my bearings. Set out before us was a table on the roof. Twinkle lights and candles decorated the area around it. A soft breeze carried the scent of our dinner towards us. It was magical. This couldn't be real.. I had to be dreaming, or dead.
"Do you… like it?" he looked like he was about to explode.
"Arnold." I let out a shaky breath. "It's perfect! You went through all this trouble for me?"
"Yeah." his cheeks began blushing again. "You want to sit down maybe?"
I nodded nervously and lead the way to the table. He pulled my chair out for me and placed our food on the table. If he kept this up, I was going to have a heart attack. "Arnold.. Why is this so weird for us?" I took a long sip from my shake.
"Aren't most first dates awkward?" he shrugged.
"Ours has an extra layer of awkward piled on top." I noted. "I think the term 'date' has us both in a tizzy."
"How do we fix that?" his chin rested on his fist.
By making out
"By pretending we don't have history together." I silently thanked God for mental filtering.
"Okay.." he took a moment to process. "So Helga.. I never got a chance to congratulate you. I saw the end of the year newspaper with your picture in it. Are you excited about being editor?" I have to admit, the boy was good at pretending.
"I'm excited, but I'm hoping I can make a difference for future underclassmen. As soon as possible, I'm lifting the underclassmen article ban."
"That's really righteous of you." he looked almost surprised. "I knew you wanted to be editor, but I figured it was for the power."
"Oh don't worry, they'll be running scared when I'm done with them." we both let out a small laugh.
"I think you'll do a good job." his warm hand suddenly came into contact with mine. Both of our gazes traveled to our hands. "Sorry" he pulled away like I burnt him.
It seemed no matter how hard we tried, we kept running into awkward moments like that. The more we fought our natural instincts, the weirder things were becoming. If our legs touched underneath the table we would both jump and instantly apologize and remain silent for a few minutes. By the time we finished eating I had a growing empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. Arnold wasn't enjoying spending time with me.. I could just feel the awkwardness radiating out of him.
As we gathered up our things off the roof, I decided to speak up. "Arnold.. You don't have to take me to see the fireworks tonight. It's obvious that this isn't working out."
"What?" he set the plates down and stood in front of me. "What are you talking about?"
"Are you having a good time with me?" I moved a step away.
"Yes?"
"Is that a question or an answer football head?" I growled.
"I'm sorry! Look.." he grabbed my hand. "I'm going to be 100 percent honest with you right now… you see, I've only been on maybe three dates in my life. All three of those dates were with girls I didn't really know well. We spent the whole time talking about random crap, and I couldn't wait for it to be over. But with you? It's completely different." He took a moment to gather my reaction.
"Arnold-"
"You know me.. very well. You know my birthday.. You know about my home life.. You know I love jazz music…You know about my parents." he looked down at his shoes. "With my other dates, I could hide behind a mask and be someone else for a while. There was no pressure. But you? You see right through me.. And you still like what you see. It scares the living heck out of me."
Arnold looked at me with concern when I didn't respond right away. My thoughts were currently on trying to keep my heart from flying out of my chest. If he had been aware of the ungodly things I would like to do to him at that very moment, he would never be able to look me in the eye again. It was taking everything in my power to not tackle him and make some fourth of July fireworks of our own.
"I've tried to dislike you." I intertwined our fingers. "I wanted to beat your face in and cackle with enjoyment.. But I never could. You are genuinely the most beautiful person.. Inside and out. You saved me from a life of loneliness and contempt, you gave me a reason to dream. Do you realize how much that means to me?" I grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer. "Tonight you wanted to see if you feel sparks." I pulled him closer to my face and his eyes got wider. "I felt them the moment I met you" I whispered in his ear.
He shifted his head so our eyes could meet. "Sparks" he whispered, pressing his forehead into mine. If I didn't know any better, I would think he was about to kiss me. I nuzzled our noses together and closed my eyes. I wasn't going to make the first move.. If we were going to kiss tonight, he was going to initiate it.
"Your heart is pounding" I pressed my hand further into his chest.
"You're making me nervous." he laughed and repositioned his head again.
"Good nervous or bad?" I nearly jumped out of my skin when his hand found its way to my waist.
"Good" his lips were close enough to almost brush against mine. Why won't the just kiss me already? After what seemed like an eternity he released me and backed away. "Sorry.." he looked away after seeing my look of sheer confusion and shock. "We should get to the harbor.. The fireworks start soon."
I made no attempt to mask my disappointment. "What the heck was that all about?" I demanded.
"Helga, it may sound like a good idea at the moment, but kissing up on the rooftop of Slausens isn't exactly what I had in mind for us tonight. If we kiss, it'll be more than a steamy make out session at the local eatery."
"What do you mean by 'more'?" I wiggled my eyebrow.
"Oh stop." he waved my comment off. "Are you coming with me or not?"
"That depends, are we going to get steamy?" I took off running towards the door before he could answer.
"You're dead Pataki!" I heard his footsteps coming up behind me. When his arms wrapped around my midsection I let out a loud howl. "Gotcha!" he lifted me off my feet.
"AH! You bastard!" I cackled. "Is this where your plan ends?"
"Oh no, I'm just starting." he set me back on my feet. I almost groaned at the loss of contact.
"Bring it on football head." I opened the doors that lead to the stairs. "So are we getting out of here or what?"
"Since the harbor is only a few blocks away, and the parking lot is probably crowded by now I figured we could walk there… if that's okay with you."
"Come on then!" I pulled him down the stairs.
After the initial awkwardness in the beginning of our date, things seemed to be okay between us again. As we walked to the harbor it was like old times, we goofed around and had a pleasant conversation. It was the most comfortable we've been around each other in years.
"Helga?" Arnold pressed the button at the crosswalk. "This is probably going to sound cheesy, perhaps on the borderline of loser… but uh… I was wondering.. Uh.."
"Spit it out!" I chuckled.
"Can I hold you hand?" his face began turning a pale pink.
Commence swooning
"Yes.." I held my hand out and waited to feel his warm hand connect with mine. I didn't think it was possible for a person to generate such electricity, but Arnold simply putting his hand in mine caused extreme electric shock throughout my whole body. It was invigorating… and I still couldn't believe it was happening to me.
After getting inside the gate to the festivities, Arnold still held tightly on to my hand despite the presence of our neighbors and friends. I just hoped Rhonda wasn't around.. Talk about awkward. We walked out on the pier in anticipation of the fireworks which would be starting in less than ten minutes. Several little kids ran around with sparklers and American flags in their hands, ducking in and out of the other spectators. Everyone was eagerly awaiting the first firework to light up the sky. We reached the end of the pier and sat down, hanging our legs over the side. I tried not to swoon over the fact that his hand was still holding mine.
"Are you having fun so far?" his shoulder touched mine when he had leaned over.
"What do you think?" I laced our fingers together and gave a soft squeeze.
For what felt like the hundredth time that night, our eyes remained locked on each others for just a little too long. I still had to force myself to keep my hormones in check… I wondered if he had to too?
"We gotta stop doing this." he bit his lip. The hormonal teenage girl in me couldn't stop staring at his teeth grating against his bottom lip. I wanted it to be my teeth biting on his lip.
STOP IT HELGA. Get a hold of yourself!
"Stop looking at my lips!" He covered his mouth self consciously. "Creeper."
"Shut up!" I pulled his hand from his mouth. "I can look all I want to! Its not like I'm kissing you-" I was cut off mid sentence with his finger against my lips.
"You're weird." he concluded, leaning in just a little further. "I like that.." his index finger slid agonizingly slow against my bottom lip before he used his hand to cup my cheek.
This is it!
A loud boom caused both of us to jump, our moment forgotten. A flash of red sparks illuminated the sky in a bright flash. All of the children did a collective 'Oooh!'. Several more fireworks shot into the air and exploded in a flurry of colors that reflected from the water in the harbor. I glanced over at Arnold to catch him already staring at me. He grabbed my hand and slid closer, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. Out of instinct, I laid my head on his shoulder. The moment his arm wrapped around me, I completely forgot about the fireworks in the sky… the sparks were already flying behind my eyes.
The night had officially come to an end, it was nearing eleven and most festivities had already ended. Arnold and I were standing on my stoop… attempting to say good night.
"I had a good time tonight" I held the rose to my nose and took a whiff. "Thank you for everything."
"I had fun too." he smiled warmly.
"I hate to be the one to bring it up… but… how do you-"
"Don't spoil the night Helga." he grabbed my shoulders. "We haven't even said good night yet. Lets just enjoy these last few moments away from reality."
"You mean the reality where you and I can never happen?" I threw the worst possible scenario out.
"Stop it!" he laughed. "You don't have to be so negative. You need to remember to smile more, it looks good on you."
"I'm not imagining this, am I?" I stepped closer. "We've been flirting all night long.."
"We have." he nodded. "It's not so weird anymore.."
"Is this the last time we'll ever openly flirt?" I decided to back into the question from somewhere else.
"That depends."
"On?"
"If you agree to go out with me again." it took my mind a moment to process what he just said.
"Again?"
"Yeah.. We had a good time tonight and I'd like to explore it further… if you want to." he grinned sheepishly.
"Does this mean you felt sparks?" I pushed the limit's a little further.
"Mmhmm." he grabbed my hand. "Sparks flew from the moment you ran into me at your front door.. I couldn't stop thinking about how pretty you looked."
It was my turn to blush like a fool. "Oh wow.."
"Look, its getting late.. I'll call you tomorrow?… good night Helga." he brought the back of my hand to his lips. He had no idea how badly he was torturing me.
"I know you're a gentleman and everything Arnold, but my hand? Really?" I pulled my hand away. "I waited 14 years to go on a real date with you. Give up the goods!" I pointed to my cheek.
"You are such a weirdo." he took a step forward and I prepared myself for a kiss on the cheek. I nearly screamed when his lips connected with mine for a chaste peck that ended all too quickly. "Good night" he repeated.
"Good night" I sighed dreamily.
"Oh screw it." he muttered, pulling me against him and kissing me feverishly. After the initial shock, I hooked my legs around his waist and relished in that moment. He pulled his mouth away and pressed his forehead into mine. "Anyone who's willing to wait 14 years deserves a proper goodnight." he panted, kissing me minutely.
"I would have waited 14 more if I had to" I pulled his bottom lip between my teeth and both of us groaned.
"I wouldn't have to worry about that." he kissed the side of my mouth.
"GET A ROOM!" a hobo came walking by with his cart.
"I really should go home.. Grandpa and Grandma are probably wondering where I am." we slowly backed away from each other.
"Bye.." I looked away, suddenly feeling shy.
He pulled me in for one final short kiss. "Don't look so worried. This wasn't heat of the moment. Trust me." he smirked. "Sleep well Helga.."
"I will now." I sighed, feeling an emotion I could never quite define before now..
Happiness..
So here's the deal: I've decided to continue the story through their senior year. Should I keep writing it under THIS story (Supernova)? Or start a new story as a continuation? (title undecided at the moment)
Let me know what you think!
(*UPDATE*) this ISNT the end! Nobody needs to worry. I am 1 BILLION percent positive I'm continuing the story. =P I'm just deciding if I should start a NEW story and mark this one as complete. (since this one is about their Junior year)..