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 66: Rising Tension
The Next Day
Arnold was on the bus that morning, fuming over his confrontation with Drake. He just couldn't believe that he would the nerve to tell HIM to stay away from her.
"Who does he think is?..." Arnold angrily thought as he recalled Drake's threat last night.
"He has no right to say that! Helga and I grew up together. We've known each other since we were three years old! Were friends! He can't tell me that!..."Arnold thought, unintentionally gripping his notebook in his hand in silent rage.
As much as he was angry over Drake's intrusion into his 'friendship' with Helga, there was something else that Drake said that got him thinking.
"I am warning you...you little fink! I know that you have a crush on my girl and I am only going to say this once...back off!..."
At the time, Arnold told him that he did not have those kind of feelings for Helga and that he was just worried for her. He wanted to dismiss the thought...so why can't he?
Why is he still thinking about that bit of the argument more than the rest?
It doesn't make any sense...unless-
"Could Drake be right? About me like-liking her?..." Arnold thought.
He tried not to think about it and focus on his hatred on that jerk and his worry over Helga but now, all he could do is wonder.
He's known Helga all of his life practically and they have always had a very complicated relationship, only recently becoming friends. He cares about her, but...liking her...that way?
"I mean, grandpa did say that I maybe jealous of their relationship. That's already two people who said that...no, of course not!..."Arnold thought, once again shaking away any thoughts of the sort.
"She's just my friend, that's all. All I want is for her well-being and right now she is in danger by dating that guy!..."Arnold thought, trying to convince no one but himself.
"Arnold, are you okay?..."Gerald asked as he noticed his expression across the aisle, while he was seated with Phoebe.
She too looked curious.
Arnold sighed. He wanted to tell him about what is happening but Voz said that it was better that this remains on a need to know bases. Arnold sighed.
He really hated keeping secrets from his best friend.
"I'm fine, I just had a rough night..."Arnold said as he turned away and decided to look out the window.
His best friend look worried, while Phoebe raised a brow at his unusual behavior.
At school
As the bus arrived at their school and everyone got off to go to their lockers, Arnold was finding himself less and less willing to continue going along with Voz's plan.
After Drake caught him, he called his mysterious ally and well...it went as well as one would expect.
FLASHBACK
"WHAT?! He caught you?!..."Voz shouted on the other end.
"Yes..."Arnold sighed.
"Did he beat you up?...'Voz asked, but Arnold doubted that it was out of concern.
"No, but he threatened to...He says that if he catches me doing this again, he'd make me regret it..."Arnold said.
"I see..."Voz said and Arnold got angrier as he remembered another bit of that "conversation".
"Ever worse, that jerk goes off and tells me to stay away from Helga! Can you believe that?!..."Arnold exclaimed.
"Drake has always been one to make threats...threats he ALWAYS carries out..."Voz said.
Arnold didn't like the sound of that.
"What am I going to do? I am sure that he is going to tell Helga and make me look-
"Relax, don't worry...Drake hasn't told Helga and he's not planning too..."Voz said.
Arnold raised a brow at that.
"How do you know?...'Arnold asked.
"I have my ways, just know that Sanchez's not talking because he doesn't want any more trouble with this girl, but if you push him enough, he WILL tell..."Voz said.
"We just have to make sure that we show Helga the truth before Drake is pushed too far..."Voz said.
"But how? What do we do? Should we abort the plan?..."Arnold asked.
"Nonsense, that's just what he wants ..."Voz said.
"But Drake knows that I tried to spy on him, he's going to be on alert and suspicious of me now..."Arnold said.
"Yes and that's your fault for getting caught, but that doesn't mean that the plan is a total failure yet...we just have to be more careful...Drake might have his guard up but he is not made of stone and you saw with your own eyes that he has a terrible temper...it's only a matter of time when he does something he shouldn't do...all we need to make sure is that when that happens, he doesn't see you..."Voz said and Arnold wondered if that would even be possible at this point.
End Of Flashback
Last night, Arnold was still mad over what went down with Drake, but now...after a full nights rest and a long, self analyzing ride to school on the bus, he was wondering if he was really doing the right thing.
Sure, it's for Helga's safety but the things that he is doing right now. It was going against every moral fiber and Arnold found to be more worried, if not also more disgusted with himself about his recent actions.
Last night he had been spying on Helga and Drake and when he got caught, instead of apologizing or trying to make right the situation, he just tried to antagonize Drake further.
It's so not like him!
"What's happening to me?..."Arnold thought, feeling so many unpleasant things right now.
Maybe it would be wise to lay low for today in order to clear his head, after all, Drake would be on his guard today, so it probably be wiser to just try and keep a low profile and avoid him and Helga just for today.
He decided to go get a drink from the water fountain to calm him down.
Big mistake, as he saw a sight that made him feel worse.
Helga and Drake walked into the school, walking, talking and holding hands.
"Oh Drake..."Helga giggled at something he said, looking so happy.
Arnold saw this.
He didn't like this.
He didn't like this at all.
With Drake
As mad as Drake was yesterday over the incident with Arnold, he was much better now that he got to walk to school with his cute, sweet girlfriend.
"So, can I carry your books to class?..."Drake asked flirtatiously, while Helga playfully rolled her eyes.
"Why not? You have been doing it every day for the last few weeks...'Helga quipped and Drake grinned.
"I love our banter...'Drake thought, totally gone for her.
They were now at their locker, but Drake noticed that someone was staring at them.
He glared when he saw that it was Arnold.
"Shortman..."Drake thought darkly.
Sure, he should have expected seeing him at school today, but that didn't mean that Drake liked it.
He hasn't forgotten what that little weasel did yesterday.
"He just better remember our talk if he knows that's good for him..."Drake thought.
Unfortunately, the two boys ended up glaring at each other, both obviously still despising each other.
Helga, however, was oblivious to the tension between the two boys and their glare off.
"Here you go, Hercules..."Helga teased as she held her books out for him to carry, only to blink at the lack of action.
She turned and noticed that he seemed to be staring into space or something.
"Drake? Drake? My books..."Helga said and Drake snapped out of it.
"Huh? What?...'Drake said.
"What's with you?..."Helga asked, raising part of her brow.
Drake decided not to mention the thing about Arnold for now. They have already faced a lot of recent drama right now, he didn't want to make things tense again.
"It's nothing, anyway, I got your books, baby..."Drake said as he held said items.
He then noticed that Shortman was still looking their way. It got under Drake's skin to say the least.
He decided to get under his skin too.
He grabbed all of Helga's books, which wasn't hard for him as he was pretty strong and Helga looked pleased.
When her back was turned, he looks up and locks eyes with Arnold, giving him a taunting look that says 'Yeah, what are you gonna do about it?..."
Helga didn't notice as she just went to home room, with Drake following her, carrying her books, while smirking as he knew that Arnold was watching in jealousy.
"Why that...Ugh!..."
Arnold held his temper, but unknown to him, he was gripping the end of his locker door..unintentionally warping it a bit.
Later
During class
After the stunt in the hall, Arnold tried harder to not pay attention to Drake and Helga. He made no attempt to talk to them, nor any attempt to even glance at him since class started.
He knew that what happened earlier was Drake trying to get under his skin, so he wasn't going to let him do that.
He knew that was what he wanted.
As the first class rolled, so far, he was able to stick with the plan.
Arnold just listened attentively in class or talked to Gerald, anything that didn't have to do with his friend and that delinquent. However, this was easier said than done. The more he tried to avoid looking at them, the harder it became.
Finally, just before lunch started, while everyone was in pairs for an assignment, Arnold could no longer stand it and took a quick glance at the new couple.
Bad idea.
No sooner had he done that when his eyes locked with Drake, who by chance, also took a quick glance at him. Instantly, both started glaring at each other. And neither had a kind word to say or think about each other.
"That no good, two face bottom feeder..." Arnold thought angrily.
"That stupid, football headed jerk..."Drake thought, just as angrily.
Just then, Drake looked away and focused his attention back at Helga who just turned around to face him, allowing Arnold to also look away. Not even two minutes went by when both Arnold and Drake glanced at each other and began to glare at each other once again.
Drake was now getting especially irritated that Arnold was staring at them.
"I told that self-centered fink to leave us alone! Why is he still looking at us? Can't he take a hint or is he that stupid?..."Drake thought, his dislike for the boy fermenting right now.
Drake was now scowling at Arnold, grinding his teeth as his anger was now rising again.
"Hey, do you how to do this?..." Helga then asked, prompting Drake to focus right back to their assignment.
"Huh? Oh, let me take a look..." He said as he leaned forward, getting a bit close to her.
Arnold noticed it and quickly experienced a serious surge of anger.
"Don't you dare go anywhere near her!..." He thought, unknowingly making his pencil snap in his hand.
His jealous almost getting the better of him, Arnold had to use any ounce of strength not to get up and pull them apart, but even that was quickly failing until-
RING!
The bell rang, signaling lunchtime.
Finally snapping out of it, Arnold was able to bring his angry in check and began packing to go and have lunch.
Good thing too, he had just been in the process of standing up and doing...okay, he's not sure what he was about to do but he was just glad that he snapped out of it.
At Lunch
At the lunch tables, Arnold sat with his friends, only a few tables apart from where Helga and Drake were. Unable take his eyes off of them, Arnold quietly ate his lunch while he continued to glare at Drake, ignoring his friends' conversation.
Drake initially was unaware that he was being watched and just enjoyed his lunch with his girlfriend. However, after laughing at a joke that Helga had just said, he unintentionally turned his head around and noticed Arnold, still, looking at them!
"You have got to be kidding me?! This is just getting downright creepy. I'm about to lose it with him!..."Drake thought.
Drake was now reaching the end of his ropes with the football head. He was within inches of just marching over there and telling him, in front of everyone, to stop staring at them.
However, before he had a chance to do that, he came up with an idea, a rather devious one.
Back in the hall, Arnold looked pretty ticked when Drake got to carry Helga's books again.
Maybe something in that nature could teach him a lesson...
While looking at Arnold, he gave him mischievous smile, which Arnold noticed and confused him.
"What is he up to?...'Arnold thought.
"I'll give him something to stare at..."The dark haired boy thought.
Then, Drake suddenly grabbed Helga hand and placed soft kiss on her hand. He closed his eyes, not even bother looking back since he knew that Arnold's eyes are watching this.
However, Helga looked surprised by his sudden bold move.
"What are you doing?..." Helga asked, taken aback by his sudden touch.
"Oh nothing. I'm just enjoying my time here with you..."He said with a sweet smile.
"Oh...umm...thanks. That's sweet of you." She said while blushing a bit, but then continued on eating.
When Arnold saw that, he almost went berserk! He got so angry at Drake's stunt that his face almost went red, but Drake didn't stop there.
"You know, anyone ever told you that you have such beautiful eyes?..." He asked.
"Oh well, um…thanks Drake, that's very…hey, can you stop making me blush!..." Helga nervously exclaimed while turning red.
"What is with him today?..." Helga thought.
Drake usually on acts like this when they are on their dates, and even then, when they had privacy. At school, he mostly just restricted himself to hand holding and carrying her books on average.
"What? Can't a guy take pride on his girl's cuteness?..." He said, both meaning it and also knowing that Arnold was seeing this and hating it. He took it a step further by caressing her cheek and he could feel Helga's blushing right now.
"Drake?..."Helga thought with wide eyes.
Drake had called her cute or pretty before, but he is going the extra mile here. It made her feel strange. And he is touching her cheek now...it's making her feel worse...uh...better...uh...um?
"Y-Yes, but not in front of people!..." She exclaimed while trying to frown at him but Drake just had that flirty look on his face.
Although Arnold was not able to hear what Drake was saying to her, he did see its effects. Seeing Helga blush like that was making his blood boil, even more when he started touching her cheek of all things.
How dare he?!
"That rotten, no good, delinquent freak!..."Arnold angrily thought.
"How can Helga stand him?! No, how can she allow herself to believe anything that he is saying to her? How could she allow him to touch her like that?! Can't she see how fake he is?!..."Arnold thought, gripping the table at his finger tips.
"Hehehe...Maybe that will force that stupid, socially inept Arnold to take a hint and stop staring at us..." Drake thought devilishly.
Drake then turned to face Arnold while giving him an evil smile, only for him to realize that Arnold was still staring at them, and it doesn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon.
He thought what he did would send him the message but it looks like it didn't.
"Really?..."Drake thought in surprise, before he narrowed his eyes.
"He wants more? Okay, he asked for it..."He thought wickedly.
Drake then spend the remainder of their lunch time either flirting with Helga or getting physically close to her. However, he also made sure that he didn't make her too uncomfortable, lest she would become suspicious of his intentions.
Arnold simply watched helplessly as Drake continued to flirt with Helga. Finally, no longer able to stand it, he suddenly got up and walked out of the lunch room. It was either that, or he was going to go over there and pummel him!
"Hey Arnold, where are you going?..." Gerald asked, but Arnold didn't bother to even answer him.
Drake watched triumphantly as he saw Arnold leave the room, defeated.
Incidentally, Helga noticed Arnold stomping away too, but just shrugged it off and just continued eating.
"So, what do you want do after lunch?" Helga asked.
"Oh I don't know. I 'll let you pick this time..."Drake said.
"Wow, such a gentleman." Helga said sarcastically.
"Pick it up and things should be smooth sailing from here on in..." She said to him genuinely as she placed a kiss on his cheek, which caused Drake to blush a bit.
Good thing Arnold wasn't there to see that.
Speaking of Arnold
The Football headed boy spent the rest of the lunch break away from Drake and Helga as possible.
Gerald asked him what was wrong and he just said that he had lost his appetite.
He was too busy feeling a lot of things to even bother to eat. Not only was he experiencing anger, so, so much anger, but also a strong hint of…sadness.
It saddened him to see Helga so happy with Drake, which confused Arnold even more.
"Why am I feeling sad? I should be angry and worried, but not sad. None of this is making any sense...."He thought
When lunch was over and everyone went back to class, Arnold and Drake continued with their little glancing routine. Every time Drake saw him starting at him, he would do gestures at Helga to spite him, such as whispering something into her ear that caused her to giggle or snort, or pass her a note, which made her smile.
By the time school ended and everyone was going home, Arnold was left utterly emotionally exhausted. Finally giving up on his staring contest with Drake, he sat on the down and slumped down, feeling completely bewildered by the whole range of emotions that he was feelings; anger, sadness, hopelessness, pain, exhaustion, etc.
Never had he experienced this much turmoil in his life!
Riding the bus alone, Arnold just stared out onto the street through the bus window, frowning at what Drake did. Recalling the memories with Drake in his mind, Arnold scowled as he got more and more angry.
That's it! He thought. I can't take this anymore! Come hell or high water, I'm going to show Helga what a fiend Drake is, if it's the last thing I do!
Suddenly, he no longer felt so bad over what he did yesterday. He just wanted to get Drake away from his friend.
It is, after all, for her own good.
-To be continued-
Next time on A Broken Heart
Helga's Confusion
A/N(1): Special thanks to Anonymous Latino, JayDogg187 and NeoMark for their help. You guysare the best ;)
A/N(2):I dedicate this chapter to my friends, my family and my love for God :)
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewer:
61394: How's this?
Invader Johnny: Well, he didn't hit Arnold, at least not physically, that is.
DanteVirgil09: You can say that again.
Giovy: We shall see how things work out from here...
Luffy Turner: Thank you for the suggestions, I will see what I can do.
:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)
