Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold or any of the characters. Hey Arnold is the property of Nickelodeon and Craig Bartlett.
A Broken Heart
Chapter 36: The Cheese Festival Part 2
Previously
"We're here...'Drake said, actually looking intrigued by the quaint little festival.
It was then that Helga realized that this is really happening...she is on a date with Drake Sanchez of all people, a real date...
"Yes...we are...'Helga said as the two walked inside to take part of the festivities.
Their date has officially begun.
They are here.
They are at the Cheese Festival.
Helga is here...with a boy...on a date...and the boy is not Arnold.
Wow...
"I still can't believe that this is happening...'Helga thought, before glancing at Drake, whom looked interested by all of the sights of the games, food and rides of the fair.
"This actually looks pretty cool..."Drake said with interest.
Helga looked at him and knew that they had to do something. That was the whole point of this, right?
"So...where do you want to start?...'Helga asked.
Drake then sent her a smile.
"You pick? You know this place better than me, anyway...'Drake said in a sincere tone.
Helga blinked before she smiled and nodded her head, however, before she could say anything, somebody got their attention.
"Drake..Helga...'A woman called.
A plump, middle aged, Hispanic woman with short brown hair and glaces waved at them and Drake smiled widely at the sight of her. They also saw a tall, 14 year old Hispanic boy whom Helga vaguely recognized from Drake's birthday party.
"Hey, aunt Rosie...Hey, Hector...'Drake greeted.
"Hello, Drakie...'Rosie said.
"Hey primito..."Hector said and then saw Helga.
"So, this is the one?...'Hector whispered and Drake sent him an annoyed frown.
Sure, his cousin gave him dating advice but Drake doesn't want to deal with his teasing right now.
"Hush up..."Drake whispered while Helga was thankfully distracted by talking to his aunt.
'Hello again, Mrs. Sanchez..."Helga greeted to the older woman.
'Hello again, Helga...how have you been?...'The kindly woman said and Helga answered.
"I've been fine...and you?..."Helga asked to be polite.
"I have been well.."Rosie said, before Hector walked up and introduced himself.
'Hello, I am Hector Sanchez, Drake's older, smarter and better looking cousin..."Hector said and Drake got annoyed by that.
"So you're Drake's cousin..and I see you even have his subtlety and modesty...' Helga said sarcastically and Hector laughed at that.
"Funny...I think I like your new girlfriend, primito..."Hector said to Drake, who blushed and crossed his arms angrily.
'Will you just shut up! Also, we're just on a date, she's not my girlfriend, tonto ..."Drake said in annoyance.
"Yet...'Drake couldn't help but quickly think while Helga suddenly blushed as Drake's cousin kept teasing him.
"Calm down, you two ..anyway Helga...Drake...you both are just in time..I was just setting up my station for the contest and I got my entry here...and some free samples since I knew you might pass by..."Rosie said as she showed them some places with the same contents as her contest entry and it looked good.
"Awesome, Gracias, Titi Rosie..."Drake said, slipping some Spanish in excitement as he and Helga took some of these samples. Even Hector took one since he never can resist his mom's desserts.
"Wow..I think this is even better than from the last time...'Helga said sincerely after sampling the flan de queso dish.
"Thank you, dear.."Rosie said with a light blush.
"Duh, mom's flan de queso is the best and is totally gonna win tonight...'Hector said with pride in his voice.
"I am just here for the fun, mijo...anyway, Helga, Drake...I am sure that you two want to go have some fun..."Rosie said.
"Alright, Auntie, but we'll be back to see you win the ribbon...'Drake said and Rosie smiled.
"Thank you, dearie...'Rosie said before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, much to his slight embarrassment.
"Careful mom, Drake's probably waiting for his girl to do that to him..."Hector teased and Drake got mad.
'SHUT UP!..."Drake yelled and Helga, while embarrassed, surprisingly just stood back as she watched Drake lash out at his cousin, who kept teasing him until his mom told them to settle down.
Helga and Drake soon walked away and Helga was looking at him and Drake felt a little more embarrassed due to his aunt kissing him right in front of her and his cousin's teasing.
"Stupid Hector...if he doesn't learn to keep his big, fat mouth shut, I'm gonna-..."Drake then noticed that Helga was looking at him.
"What?...'Drake asked and Helga just smiled.
"Nothing...so, that was your cousin?...'Helga asked.
"Yeah...don't mind Hector...he's 14 and you know that puberty can kill off brain cells...'Drake muttered under his breath and Helga chuckled at that.
"I see...anyway, come on, let's go play some games...'Helga said and Drake blinked, before remembering that they were about to do something like that.
Drake nodded, no loner feeling embarrassed and followed her to go play some mundane festival game in some effort to entertain themselves.
At The Stands
Helga and Drake decided to start with the games, starting with the classic that appears at every and any carnival, fair or festival.
The Milk Bottle Toss...
Drake and Helga were in front of the game and Drake paid for the balls.
"Ladies first?.."Drake suggested teasingly and Helga smirked as she held the balls in her hand, determined to knock the bottles down.
Helga kept that smirk as she wound and then threw the ball. She managed to knock down the first stack of bottles, then the second and finally the third one. She won and Drake looked impressed.
"Nice aim...'Drake commented, sincerely looking impressed.
"Thanks...'She said.
Helga smiled, enjoying the rare feeling of something going right in her life. The guy in the stand told her to pick a prize from the top shelf and Helga decided to go with the antique looking doll, deciding that she might be able to pawn it someplace for some extra bucks.
Soon it was Drake's turn. The tall, dark haired pre teen soon grabbed the balls, sent a determined smile to his blonde date and then focused on winning the prize and impressing her.
He found up, threw the ball and in no time, all three of the stacks of bottles were knocked down.
"We got another winner...'The carnie said.
'Alright!...'Drake said with a fist pump and then turned to Helga, who was sending him a smile.
"Pick a prize, any of them...'The guy said as he offered from the top shelf.
Drake decided to go with the biggest prize on the top shelf, which is a large, stuffed teddy bear.
"Give me that one...Drake said as he pointed to a stuff teddy bear, as he sent a proud look to Helga, who couldn't help but giggle.
"So, opinion?...'Drake asked as he now had his prize in his hand.
"I say we should probably switch you to pitcher...you got quite an arm on you...'Helga said and Drake smiled.
"I'll think about it...here...'Drake said as he handed her the bear.
'Wait..your giving it to me?..."Helga questioned and Drake nodded.
"I won it for you...besides, what am I going to do with it, anyway?..."Drake said with a shrug, like it is no big deal for him.
Helga didn't know why, but what he did just now made her smile inside.
The two preteens continued to play these games together, either winning prizes or losing but still having a lot of fun together.
Later
After a series of mundane, cliche but still somewhat enjoyable games, Helga and Drake decided to move to the test your strength game.
Helga played first and got an 80/100 on her score, well above average strength for her age and height.
"Beat that, Sanchez...'Helga said, being a little cocky right now.
Drake sent her a smirk, grabbed the mallet, sent her a look and then slammed said item on the base and they watched that Drake scored 100/100, leaving Helga completely speechless.
"I think I just did beat you...'Drake couldn't help but quip.
Helga snapped out of her shock and blinked.
"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that he is so strong...'Helga thought, before smiling, actually impressed as the guy gave Drake another bear as a prize, which Drake handed to her.
"Are you going to give me every prize you win?..."Helga asked sarcastically, but in a light, playful sort of way.
"Maybe...or maybe I'll keep one if I like it enough...'Drake joked and Helga actually laughed at that.
After that, they decided to go on the closest ride, which happens to be the bumper cars, however, once they got there, Helga semi freaked when she saw one car.
'Don't go on Car #4..."Helga said to Drake.
"Why?..."Drake asked, confused.
"The the pedal sticks..."She replied, trying to shake away a memory of her and Phoebe nearly dying when they had been on that same car due to her obsession with Arnold and her obsession with trying to sabotage any girl whom she saw as a threat to his heart.
It had been to the point where she had been willing to let Ruth McDougal, a stupid sixth grade girl whom, now that she looks back with a clearer head, didn't even know who Arnold was and even if she did know that he existed, the chances of a sixth grade girl willingly going out with a fourth grade boy, no matter how nice, cute and impressive he could be, were pretty slim and even then, it would have to be a girl that would actually have the patience and willingness to actually bother to get to know that guy, two things that a girl like Ruth didn't have, at least not enough to that level. Looking back, even if Arnold did get to tell her that he liked her, Ruth most likely would have been flattered at best but still would have turned him down due to the age difference, something that Helga's envy and jealousy wouldn't let her see and instead made her target the girl and actually want to hurt her.
Something that she is just now realizing was wrong in every possible way.
And six months after that incident, in the Next Cheese Festival, she spent the entire ride trolling the very pacifistic Lila who didn't even want Arnold to bump the cars and she just kept bumping them to ruin their night, even if in the end, Lila only liked Arnold, not like-liked him, which she said over and over again at every given chance, as if to remind not only Arnold, but Helga too, that her efforts were unnecessary in the long run and she had just wasted her time and energy in hurting some girl who didn't even want Arnold to begin with.
In other words, her obsession made her hurt someone again, not that she cared...at the time, anyway.
"Criminy! Was I really that messed up back then?...'Helga thought, still feeling some regret, shame and maybe even a bit of guilt once she looks back and realized what she let her obsession with the football headed boy make her do.
She hurt herself and nearly hurt others...she doesn't want to do that anymore.
"I see...thanks for the warning...come on...car #3 and car #2 are open now...'Drake said to Helga, snapping her out of her bad memories.
Helga realized that they were suppose to play on this ride and nodded.
She was now on Car#2 and Drake was on Car#3 and soon they started playfully bumping each other and any other kid they was coming their way. Helga tried not to focus on her memories of her past on this ride, and just tried to playfully bump Drake and respond whenever he bumped her.
After about a few minutes, Helga actually stopped thinking of her past and just tried to enjoy the present...with Drake.
'I can't believe this...but...I think I'm actually having fun...'Helga thought as she and Drake playfully bashed against each other in their cars and briefly shared a look.
He smiled at her...
She smiled at him..
And they both went back to bashing their cars against each other since they still have time on this ride and because it is fun.
Drake and Helga eventually got off the ride and were laughing.
"Oh man, you should have seen the look on your face after I rammed into you..."Drake laughed and Helga rolled her eyes at that.
"Oh please, you only got me once...I bashed you three times and you practically jumped out of the car..."Helga said and Drake laughed.
"Hardly...I did the first one just to mess with ya...'Drake joked.
"Yeah, right...'Helga lightly pushed him in the arm.
"Yeah, that is right...'Drake said as he did them same thing and Helga laughed at that.
As the two kids kept walking and teasing each other, they started smelling something good and Drake smiled.
"Oh boy, the dessert contest is about to start..."Drake said, reminding Helga that his aunt is suppose to be here and part of the reason they came was to cheer her on.
Just as they predicted, after the judges tasted the final entry, which happened to be Rosie's flan de queso recipe, she was declared the winner and was given her prizes, which includes a blue ribbon and some gift certificate made out to the winner. Hector was proud of her and Drake and Helga went to congratulate her, Drake took some pictures with his camera phone and then informed Drake's mother, who was still working at the hospital but gave her congratulations to her sister-in-law.
After a while of congratulating, Hector and Rosie soon left to enjoy the other activities that the Cheese Festival have to offer, leaving Drake and Helga alone to continue their date in privacy.
"I gotta say, Sanchez...your aunt really is one heck of a cook...that cheese flan had to be the best one yet...'Helga complimented.
"Thanks...so, come on Pataki...we already did the booths, the test your strength game and the bumper cars...let's try something a little more...wild...'Drake said as he pointed to the large rides and Helga grinned.
"Now you are speaking my language...'Helga said in excitement.
They were about to leave...only for someone else to get their attention.
"Helga?...Drake?...'Someone called them, someone who made Helga stop in her tracts.
-To be continued-
Next time on A Broken Heart
The Cheese Festival Part 3
A/N(1): Who is this mystery person? We shall find out in the next chapter of A Broken Heart.
A/N(2): Remember that if you have any idea for tropes, to add them to the TV Tropes page for this fic.
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers:
Invader Johnny: Well, the date isn't over yet and we will see whom this mysterious interloper is soon...
DeepVoice'06 and yenny-1411 : I hope that this chapter will do for now...
Alomoria and Guest : Thank you :)
Treasure and alguien22792 : I am glad that you are enjoying it so far :)
Ezza: Yes, Brainy has been mentioned at least once in this story and...well, I haven't decided when I will use him again.
WONDERBABE: We shall see...we shall se...
:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)