Chapter 29: Cloud 9
The next morning, Helga felt a set of wet lips around hers. When she opened her eyes, there was another set directly in front of hers. A warm breath that was released against her face sent chills throughout her body.
Releasing her lips, with his nose against hers, Arnold asked "Morning sweetie. How'd you sleep?"
Looking at him with tired eyes, she said "Eh, not bad. So what are we going to do today?"
Giving her another soft kiss, he replied "You must be hungry! You never ate last night."
"I had some ice cream. It got the job done." she smirked, seeing him roll his eyes at her.
"Whatever you say Helga."
After a moment of silence, Arnold asked "What if we invite Gerald and Phoebe to get breakfast with us? While we're out, we can talk about the party we're throwing next Friday."
Sitting up straight, she replied "Okay, sounds good. I'll text Pheebs and let her know we're going to that fancy bagel place."
"Okay, I'll do the same with Gerald. Make sure to keep an extra napkin nearby." he winked, knowing he was pushing his luck.
"Shut it hairboy! Even if I did need your help wiping my face, I think our friends' could handle witnessing that. Tall hairboy watched every one of our umm erotic meals last year." she pointed out, while noticing him try to hold back a laugh.
"He couldn't finish his lunch half the time because of it."
"So, that was his problem!" she scowled.
Rolling his eyes at her inability to let things go, the two grabbed their things and headed over to get some breakfast.
Holding hands out the door, Helga noticed Arnold becoming quiet. "Everything alright football head?"
Widening his eyes at her question, he said "Huh? Oh yeah, I was just thinking."
"Well doi! What was it about?" she scowled.
Rubbing his neck, he replied "When I said we should talk to Gerald and Phoebe about the party, it made me think about who all would be there." he began, seeing Helga cock her brow.
"That is how a party works. I believe it's called a guest list." she said wittingly.
Rolling his eyes, he continued. "I was worried Arnie might show up. He has my number now. I don't know which family member gave it to him. I'm worried they told him where we live."
Helga then began to squeeze Arnold's hand tightly. Filled with fury at the thought of Arnie showing up, she thought back to Mark's suggestion of issuing a restraining order. Could that really work? He's too stupid to understand how one works? Which means he wouldn't honor it. Which means his butt would get thrown in jail and Arnold would have to live with the guilt. Crimity!
Taking a deep breath, although still not having a pleasant look on her face, she replied "Well, we'll just have to wait and see."
Arnold couldn't believe what he was hearing. She was being so calm about the drama and chaos that was being created for them.
"Are you okay? I mean, you did hear everything I just said right?" he couldn't help but ask.
Rolling her eyes, she scoffed "Yes football head, I heard you! Unless you want me issuing a restraining order against him, there's not a whole lot we can do about it at the moment."
Before getting a chance to tell her exactly how he felt about what had just been said, he heard "Hey Arnold! What's up man?"
The two of them looked over to see Gerald and Phoebe waiting in front of Bigal's Cafe.
"Hey Gerald. How's it going?" he asked, while Helga gave her best friend a weak smile.
"Not bad. So, what's the latest news on your case with Matt?" Gerald asked, placing his hands on his hips.
Rubbing his neck, Arnold replied "We haven't seen them since dinner at Chez Pierre."
"Football head's lamebrain cousin hasn't been shy about making appearances though." Helga butted in.
" .mmm! Arnold, don't you think it might be time to do something drastic?
"Such as?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders.
"Let him hit on Helga! That way, you can sue for sexual harassment, and he'll be out of your hair." Gerald said proudly.
Arnold raised an eyebrow at Gerald for suggesting such a thing, while Helga began to clench her fists at the idea of Arnold's eccentric cousin touching her. "One, I'm afraid you're a few months too late as far as him hitting on me goes, Geraldo! Second, keep your 'loving' suggestions to yourself!" she scowled, heading into the cafe.
The group followed her inside, while taking a seat at a booth near the back of the restaurant.
"This place is quite nice. I don't believe I've been here before." Phoebe informed them.
"Arnoldo and I came one day when we skipped school together." Helga replied confidently. She then looked over to see Arnold placing his hand on hers. Remembering that first week they spent at school in a relationship made his heart grow warm.
"You two won't be doing that when the food gets here will you?" Gerald asked, seeing them roll their eyes at him.
Not taking his hand off Helga's, Arnold replied, "We actually wanted to talk to you about a party we'll be throwing next Friday for the fourth of July.
"Oh my! That sounds lovely." Phoebe couldn't help but comment.
Gerald crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair, similar to Helga when she was suspicious about something. "You do realize your last party didn't exactly lead to a stable first few weeks of marriage for you two?"
Pointing a finger in his direction, Helga scowled "Well maybe if you losers had paid closer attention to the drinks being served, we wouldn't have had to worry more about waking up with amnesia than migraines!"
"Whatever you say Helga. So, where's this party and who all is coming?" Gerald asked, not wanting to push Helga any further.
"We thought we could make it a housewarming party. You know, at the apartment." Arnold suggested, with a smile on his face.
"That sounds delightful." Phoebe replied, while Gerald's eyes lit up "A housewarming party? Man you better not let anyone bring any drinks! Can you imagine how mad your neighbors would be?"
Helga sat there thinking to herself They never say anything when Arnold's putting the moves on me.
"I know it was irresponsible to drink at our last party. This time will be different." he began, before picking up Helga's engaged hand "and it will be special because no one will lose anything important to them."
Phoebe saw Helga's eyes lower into her dreamy heartfelt look that only Arnold could bring to them. Gerald too was familiar with it. He was more than willing to say something, but didn't want to receive a kick from Phoebe for ruining the moment, like he had in the cafeteria.
After turning back to look at them, Arnold asked "So, is there anything in particular you guys would like to do at the party?"
"No offense buddy, but the fourth of July is all about fireworks. I don't see how we could do that in your apartment." Gerald pointed out.
At least not those kinds Helga thought to herself, looking down at her ring.
"Well, why don't we have the party on the roof of the boarding house? It could be just like that geek party we through in fourth grade." Arnold suggested.
"Maybe we should still call it that. That way Princess won't show up." Helga smirked, seeing Arnold roll his eyes.
"Then whoever wants to come back to the apartment after the show is more than welcome to." Arnold replied, with an anxious expression forming on his face.
"Am I to assume the guest list will be the same as last time?" Phoebe couldn't help but ask, watching Helga roll her eyes.
"Actually Phoebe, we don't think it would be a good idea to invite Curly. You know how worked up he can get at events like that." Arnold pointed out.
"Tell me about it!" Gerald said, agreeing with his best friend.
"Also, I was thinking we could invite two new friends of ours; Jason and Mark. Jason's helped out a lot as far as cooking goes. I don't know where we'd be on the case if it wasn't for Mark." Arnold reminded them.
"I suppose they do deserve an invite." Phoebe said, nodding her head.
"Is this going to be like that wedding coordinator thing where you make me sit down with you for half an hour and call everyone up?" Gerald asked, glaring at Arnold.
"Unless you feel like knocking on everyone's doors. I don't think the invites would get to them in time if we just decided to mail them out?" Arnold said, shrugging his shoulders."
"Whatever you say Arnold." Gerald sighed.
After finishing their breakfast, the four of them left, wondering if it would be two early to start buying things for the party.
"I guess we don't need to start buying fireworks this early, huh?" Arnold asked, rubbing his neck.
"Pttss...not unless you plan on shooting them at those patients of yours." Helga scoffed.
"By the way, how is your new job proceeding Arnold." Phoebe wondered.
"It's not bad. I've met some interesting people." Arnold replied, not wanting to tell his friends about the strange similarities he had seen between them and the patients.
Helga wasn't afraid to imply it however, while giving him an evil grin. "Really? Just interesting? There's nothing more you can tell them about it?"
Raising an eyebrow at his best friend, Gerald asked "Is there something you left out?"
Arnold then gave Helga a look that implied how unnecessary that was of her. "They just remind me of all of you." he sighed.
Gerald gave a questioning look, as he replied "Me? What's that supposed to mean?"
Grinning even wider, Helga said "Go ahead Arnold, tell them about the dream you had."
Rolling his eyes at his wife's amusement from the situation, Arnold turned his head to see Phoebe and Gerald listening attentively. "When we were in fourth gradeā¦" he began, until being interrupted.
"Fourth grade? Man I can barely remember my dreams from the night before. How long does your memory last?!" Gerald exclaimed.
"Anyway, that weekend I was supposed to visit Arnie, I dreamt when I saw him, he had all of you as friends. Only, you had switched personalities."
Gerald raised an eyebrow, while Phoebe appeared to be intrigued. "How so Arnold?"
"Well, Harold cared about fashion as opposed to Rhonda. Stinky was smart, rather than you Phoebe, Sid was cool, not you Gerald, and Lila wouldn't stop flirting with me." Arnold explained, while Gerald then turned his attention to the one person who had been left out of the story.
"What about Pataki? Did that trait swapping dream lead you to believe your reversed traits are what make you meant to be together?" Gerald couldn't help but say, while Helga began to clench her fists.
Arnold then rolled his eyes, replying "It was just a dream Gerald."
"Sounds more like a nightmare if Arnie was in it." he replied, shaking his head.
"Ya got that right!" Helga scoffed.
"So, your patients remind you of how we acted in the dream, as opposed to everyday life?" Phoebe asked, getting her facts straight.
Seeing Arnold nod, Gerald replied "Thank goodness! I was going to suggest therapy for him if he said the other way around."
Looking over at Helga, Arnold asked "So, what should we do for the rest of the day. Our cooking lesson with Jason won't be until this afternoon."
Shaking his head, Gerald once again felt the need to give his opinion "Man. I still can't believe you're doing that."
"What do you want us to do? Eat from the garbage?!" Helga scowled.
Sensing the tension building up between them, Phoebe decided to step in. "Would you care to see a movie? I don't believe an Evil Twin movie will be coming out any time soon."
Feeling a bit embarrassed suggesting it, Arnold replied "We could see Cloud 9?"
The group immediately turned to look at him, wondering if he realized how crazy he sounded. "Arnold, that is a chick flick!" Gerald exclaimed.
"Hey, you saw Matchmaker with us on Valentine's day." he protested.
"But did I enjoy it?" Gerald asked, crossing his arms.
After thinking a moment, Phoebe spoke up. "It could be just as enjoyable for the boys as it us for us. Romance movies are not just meant for women."
"Pttss...whatever, let's just go." Helga scoffed, grabbing Arnold's hand.
After making it to the theater and buying their tickets, the group went inside to buy their treats.
"Man, this movie better be worth blowing my Saturday afternoon." Helga said to her best friend.
"How has work been proceeding for you?" she asked.
"As good as it can be at this point. There's not much more I can do right now." Helga said, shrugging her shoulders.
The boys then returned with the drinks and snacks. "Ready to go?" Arnold asked.
No sooner had he said that, they turned around to see Matt standing beside them. "Hello Helga!"
Widening her eyes, she stepped back, nearly knocking the food out of Arnold's hands.
"What are you doing here?!" she couldn't help but scream.
"Amanda and I were supposed to see Cloud 9 together. She's busy with something else however. Guess it'll just be me." he said, grinning widely.
Arnold would have clenched his fists, had he not been holding onto a handful of snacks. Gerald saw the angry look in his friend's eyes, as he whispered "Relax man. She doesn't like him."
"Why don't we all sit together?!" Matt insisted, while Helga waited for Arnold to make the decision.
I can't let him touch her. Even if we did press sexual harrasment charges, he could still press assault charges.
Not receiving an answer, Helga finally spoke up. "I..I..guess you could."
Arnold's eyes widened, while seeing Matt's smile grow. "Great! Let's go!"
Gerald shook his head, while entering last with Arnold. "If you're not pressing charges, you better keep an eye on him."
Knowing he was right, Arnold then decided to shove Matt out of the way, before he had a chance to sit beside Helga. As the group sat in the row together, the seating arrangement turned out to be Gerald, Phoebe, Helga, Arnold, and Matt at the end. Just having to be there with Matt made Arnold think to himself this is going to be a long movie!
Although Arnold never noticed Matt reaching his hand over to grab anything from Helga's lap, he never sensed Matt taking his eyes off her throughout the entire movie.
When it finally ended, Matt met them outside to say "Well that was a nice movie. Maybe you two would like to join me for dinner?"
Arnold could feel Helga's sweaty palms, while seeing the petrified look in her eyes. "Thanks, but we've actually got somewhere we need to be." he replied.
"That's asham. Guess I'll see you later then." Matt said, sending Helga one more enticing look.
Gerald could see the angry look forming in Arnold's eyes, while Helga didn't even notice his firm grip on her hand.
" .mmm! Well, keep a watchful eye on him, because he sure seems to have one on you Pataki...for some reason." Gerald said, shaking his head.
"Whatever. We'll see you guys later. We have to meet Jason for our lesson." Arnold sighed, leading Helga to the boarding house.
Watching their two best friends walk away, Gerald turned to Phoebe. "You think Matt really likes Pataki, or is he just using her for something like Amanda did with Arnold's creepy cousin?"
Phoebe pondered the thought a moment, finally replying "From what I remember, Matt didn't like any girls in high school. I don't know who he would be needing Helga for to make jealous."
Once Helga and Arnold finished their silent walk to the boarding house, Arnold turned to say "I'm really sorry Helga."
Cocking her brow, she asked "For what?"
"For not refusing to let him sit with us. I was just afraid to rock the boat with him." he sighed, seeing her roll her eyes.
"Yeah, well like you said. We're half way through this...thanks for sitting by him." she said, smiling weakly.
While he was about to kiss her, they heard "Hey guys! Ready for another fun night of cooking?"
The two lovebirds quickly pulled away from each other to see Jason standing behind them with a bad of ingredients.
"Oh yeah. Come on in and we can get started." Arnold insisted, rubbing his neck.
Walking into the kitchen, Jason said "Since we didn't have the meat last time, I figured I'd stop at the store and just pick up everything we needed."
"That was nice of you!" Arnold exclaimed, while Helga rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm.
Setting everything on the table, Jason said "This recipes is as easy as the last one. First you'll want to preheat the oven to 350 degrees."
Arnold wasted no time doing so, while Helga rested her head in her hand on the table.
"Do you have a baking sheet to set the thighs on?" Jason asked, while Helga thought to herself No, they cook on the floor!
While Arnold grabbed the sheet, Jason said "I brought some garlic salt, onion salt, oregano, thyme, paprika, and pepper. Once it's done cooking, we can combine the ingredients to add to them."
What do you want? A metal! Helga thought to herself.
While the boys were getting things ready, Jason asked "Did anything exciting happen today?"
Helga's eyes widened, wondering if Arnold would tell him about Matt. She was going to have to mention it to Mark anyway.
"Well, we bumped into Matt at the theater." Arnold admitted, as he placed the chicken in the oven.
"Did anything bad happen?" Jason asked, looking over at Helga.
Before she could answer, Arnold replied "Nothing we could sue him for. Although, I can tell he's willing to drag this thing to the end."
"Mark and I are more than willing to help you. That is his job after all." Jason laughed, seeing a weak smile come to Helga's face. As stressful as this situation was, it was nice knowing she and Arnold had so many people who cared about them.
Once the food was ready, Jason placed it on the table. "I'm guessing your grandfather will want some?"
"I don't know. The sandwiches we made last week didn't sit right with his stomach."
"Pttss...does anything ever?" Helga scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"I guess I could go ask him." Arnold said, while Jason fixed everyone's plates.
Seeing the sad look on Helga's face, Jason sat beside her and said "I know things have been tough on you, but they're going to be better."
Rolling her eyes, she replied "Pttss...how do you figure?"
Placing his hand on hers, he replied "Because times were hard for me at the homeless shelter. All I had were my dreams. They didn't turn out 'exactly' how I imagined they would, but I'm much happier now than I used to be."
Only listening to his words, Helga looked up to smile at him. Arnold then raced back in to say "He's in the bathroom. Grandma must have made him watermelon for dinner. Which means we won't be seeing him the rest of the night."
Not hearing a response right away, Arnold looked down to see Jason with his hand on Helga's. His eyes widened, not sure of what to think.
Does he still have feelings for her, or is he just trying to comfort her?
"Well, after we eat, we can put the rest in the fridge for them. That is, unless you two would like to take it home." Jason replied, taking his hand off Helga's.
"Eh, whatever works for Arnoldo over there." she shrugged her shoulders.
"Uhh sure." he said, sitting close to her, wrapping his arm around her.
Helga found it a bit odd he kept his around around her the entire time he ate. The whole day had been odd however, what with telling their friends' about his dream, running into Matt, and now sharing information about it with what she still wasn't sure to consider a close friend or not.
After dinner, Arnold decided to just bring the chicken home with them. It was also a toss up as to whether or not Helga would feel like cooking or order take out for dinner.
"Well, thanks for everything Jason." he said, waving goodbye to him.
"No problem, see you on Monday!"
While Arnold walked down the street carrying the food, he watched Helga stare at the sidewalk with her hands at her sides. All he wanted to do was race home and hold her. First Matt tried to touch her, then Jason DID touch her. Surely he didn't mean anything by it. That doesn't mean he enjoyed witnessing it however.
Once they made it back to the apartment, Arnold wasted no time putting away the food.
"Well, today was an interesting day. I think I'll head to bed." Helga said, stretching her arms.
No sooner had she said that, Arnold dragged her into the bedroom. Throwing her onto the bed, he heard her say "Sheesh football head, what's with you?"
Pulling off her pink t-shirt, along with his green one, he pressed her face against his firmly. Keeping one hand behind her head and her other hand in his, he rubbed it thinking to himself about both boys that day wanting to put THEIR hands on her.
As he began to suck her tongue more fiercely, her eyes flashed open when she felt something below.
They both knew what had just happened, but he didn't care at the moment. All he could think about was the awful, insecure feeling of someone else putting their hands on her. When he finally needed a breath, he knew what the first thing she would comment on would be.
"If you were that worked up, why didn't you take our pants off too?" she smirked.
Rolling his eyes, he sighed "Because that would mean going another second without touching you."
Seeing her about to go into one of her monologue states, he pressed his lips against hers, hearing her moan deeply. I wonder if she's actually saying one in her head, or just happy.
After releasing her lips a moment later, he began to take off her bra while asking "Can you tell me what you were just thinking about?"
Her eyes began to widen, as he laid his hands on her breasts. Feeling his nose pressed against hers, she replied "I was just thinking about the movie."
Lifting an eyebrow at her, he sat up to take off both their pants and underwear. Normally he wouldn't be so quick about it, but even he didn't like sitting in such a wet substance.
"Which part were you thinking about?"
"When he finally tells her he loves her. He takes her hand and tells her how much she means to him. She really is on Cloud 9...don't you ever tell anyone I said that!" she nearly scowled at him.
Smiling at her, he rested his lips against hers. "I can't promise anything."
The two then fell asleep together, after one more lingering kiss. Arnold held Helga in his arms, knowing what a sense of relief it was to be the one holding her.
