Chapter 24: Brainy
Tuesday
"Arnold, I really think you're going crazy my brother."
Arnold sighed and planted his face in the palm of his hand. Gerald sat on his bed giving his best friend a look of shock. They were both sitting in Gerald's room. The same room where they had spent many nights together during their younger days.
After a sleepless night last night, Arnold knew he needed to find some answers about the picture. So he turned to his right hand man from preschool.
"I'm not going crazy Gerald." Arnold said with a low voice." I know Helga wouldn't lie to me about that."
"But, how can you be so sure?!" Gerald said, throwing his hands up in the air." I mean, the girl sees one soap opera and she suddenly thinks that she knows exactly what's going on? I mean, come on Arnold. Someone would have to be crazy to wanna kill you!"
Arnold sighed again as he looked up at Gerald. He sat across the room from him in a big black office chair." Look, I know it sounds crazy Gerald, but this is the best lead we got."
"Or maybe." Gerald said as he laid back on his bed to face the ceiling." It's just a really big coincidence."
"Well, it's a really convincing coincidence." Arnold said he laid back in the office chair, trying to make himself comfortable." I mean, why would someone take a picture of Helga like that, and then write that on the picture?"
Gerald sighed as he placed both of his hands behind his head." I have to say Arnold, it is a pretty wild coincidence."
Suddenly, an awkward silence broke across the room. Neither one of the friends said a word.
"Well." Arnold said, breaking the silence." You got any idea who would take a picture like that?"
The room fell silent again. Gerald looked up, racking his brain for a moment.
"You know." Gerald said in a low voice." If you would've mentioned this a few weeks ago, I would've said it was Sammy."
"Can't be him." Arnold said as he also crossed his arms behind his head, leaning back onto them." He was with me when I chased the guy with the picture."
"Oh yeah." Gerald said as he sighed." I forgot about that."
"Well, we know Sammy used to have a crush on Helga." Arnold said as he suddenly leaned forward now, crossing his elbows on his knees and laying his head on his propped up hands." What other guys have a crush on Helga?"
"Well." Gerald said." This doesn't seem like a crush type of thing. This is more like an obsession kind of thing. This guy seems like he wants Helga some kind of bad."
"Your right." Arnold said with a sigh." Okay, let's think about this. What guy would be obsessed over Helga?"
Gerald suddenly snickered in laughter." You know, I just thought of something. Helga has run off every man that has ever had a crush on her."
He then noticed the scowl that Arnold was sending him." I mean, besides you of course." He said, choking down a laugh.
Arnold sighed as a small smile suddenly came to his lips." I mean, I guess you're right Gerald. I remember all those times in elementary school, she used to punch Brainy. Heck, I almost felt bad for the little-"
That's when the thought suddenly hit him. He looked up at Gerald to see him giving Arnold the same shocked look Arnold was giving him. How had he not thought of this before?!
"Oh my God…" Gerald got out in almost a whisper.
"Come on!" Arnold suddenly yelled as he jumped up and grabbed his baby blue jacket." We gotta get to Brainy's house!"
…
"How's your mother doing Helga?" Phoebe asked in a sincere tone as she sat down on Helga's bed.
"You know Pheebs, she's actually doing a lot better." Helga said with a smile on her lips as she sat across the room from Phoebe on Miriam's bed.
It was true. Miriam had been doing a lot better. And Helga couldn't be happier for her mother. She was starting to get a grip on her life for once. Alcoholism was slowly starting to become a thing of the past for her. Plus she finally didn't have to live under Bob's shadow anymore. That is unless Olga had another plan up her sleeve…
"Well, that's good Helga!" Phoebe said as she smiled at her friend. However, she noticed a smug look in Helga's face.
"Is something wrong?" Phoebe asked as she looked at Helga with concern in her eyes.
Snapping out of her trance, Helga looked up at her friend and faked a smile." Oh, uh yeah, I'm fine Phoebe."
However, Phoebe continued to give her a look of concern." You're not okay, are you Helga?"
Helga tore her eyes away from Phoebe to stare at the ground." Okay, I'm not." She said with a sigh." The truth is, I'm worried for Arnold."
"Well, how so?" Phoebe asked with an intrigued look in her eyes.
So, Helga proceeded to tell Phoebe the whole story about Arnold and the picture. She told her about the message on the back and what she believed it meant.
"Oh my Helga…" Phoebe said with shock painted on her face." That's a really big conclusion to come up with. I mean, how do you know that it's true?"
"It has to be Pheebs." Helga replied with a sigh. She then folded her arms across her chest and fell back into Miriam's bed." I mean, what kind of creep writes the exact message from a soap opera onto a picture of me?"
"Someone who is obsessed with you Helga." Phoebe said without skipping a beat." I mean, I know it sounds crazy, but that's really what I think."
Helga sighed as she suddenly snatched the white pillow from behind her head. She stared at it for a moment before she smashed it into her face. She let out a groan full of annoyance into the pillow.
"Helga?" Phoebe asked as she looked at her friend with concern in her eyes." Are you… okay?"
"Just peachy Pheebs." Helga said, her voice muffled but still audible, from behind the pillow
"Well." Phoebe replied with a sigh." Maybe we could do some critical thinking. Try to figure out who it might be."
"Oh please Pheebs." Helga groaned as she removed the pillow from her face." We don't have any clues leading up to this."
Phoebe saw the scowl on Helga's lips and sighed again." Well, you have to start somewhere Helga."
Helga nodded and sighed as she sat up from her pillow now." Your right Pheebs. I guess we gotta start somewhere."
…
"Man, are you sure about this? Why don't we just go to the police?" Gerald groaned as he looked up at Brainy's house.
His house wasn't just nice or anything, but it wasn't exactly run down either. It was a smaller blue house just a few blocks down from Gerald's house.
"I told you Gerald." Arnold said, giving his friend a knowing look." Me and Helga are tired of dealing with the police. Plus, this isn't enough evidence for them to convict someone."
"Okay okay." Gerald said as he looked back up at the house in front of him." But what if Brainy really is crazy and he wants to kill you?"
Arnold sighed and put his right hand on Gerald's shoulder." I don't know Gerald. Let's just hope he isn't crazy."
"Well." Gerald said, turning around to look at Arnold again." We all know that Brainy is well…" he then lowered his voice significantly." A little strange."
"Well." Arnold also said in a low voice." I gotta figure this out, for Helga's sake."
"Whatever you say buddy." Gerald said with a nervous sigh.
Together, the friends made their way up Brainy's stoop. The only thing that could be heard was the shuffling of their feet on the concrete steps.
As they reached the top step, Arnold rang the doorbell. A buzzing noise was heard from inside the house, and then, silence once again.
Gerald and Arnold gave each other a nervous glance before they suddenly heard footsteps approaching the door. They brought their attention back to the door as it suddenly swung open.
They were met by a skinny, wheezing teen with thick rimmed glasses and a small mustache resting on his upper lip.
"Uh… hi guys."
…
"Pheebs, why in the hell would Stinky wanna kill Arnold over me?"
"I don't know Helga." Phoebe said as she took off her glasses to rub her tired eyes." Didn't you two date one time?"
Helga then let out a dramatic groan and fell back on her mother's bed." Please don't remind me. I paid him a Mr.Nutty bar and the next thing I know, he fell in love with me!"
"Well, it was just a thought." Phoebe said as she straightened her glasses back onto her face.
Helga just sighed." Stinky's too nice to hurt me or Arnold anyways. Plus I think he has a thing for Lila."
"Yeah, true." Phoebe said as she fell back into Helga's bed." I'm all out of people and ideas."
Helga let out a deep sigh as she listened to the sound of the cold wind howl outside the boarding house. After the week she had been having, things were not looking bright.
'If only things were as simple as they once were. Hell, I hate to say it, but right now I kinda miss the days of when I used to bully Arnold. Even though I was torturing myself by keeping it all a secret, it was still just so much simpler than now. I swear, sometimes I just wish I could go back to the days when I would confess my love for that adorable little football head from behind a trash can and then sock Brainy whenever he would…'
That's when the realization hit her. The one single guy in their class that her and Phoebe didn't mention. The one guy that would always get his glasses broken by ole Betsy and the five avengers.
"Brainy!" Helga suddenly announced out loud as she bolted upright from her bed.
Phoebe, still caught off guard from Helga's sudden outburst, looked at her in confusion as she also sat up." What did you say?"
"Brainy, Phoebe! Brainy!" Helga yelled, throwing her hands in the air." That's who it is!"
"I don't know Helga." Phoebe said, giving her an unsure look." I mean, if you haven't noticed, Brainy has kept his distance from you since you started dating Arnold."
"Exactly! That means he's been planning something this whole time! I gotta text Arnold right now and see where he's at!" She said as she suddenly pulled out her phone and texted Arnold frantically.
"Helga, don't get me wrong. Brainy is a tad bit… different. But that doesn't mean he's suddenly a murderer." Phoebe said, still giving Helga that same unsure look.
"But there's also a chance that he is." Helga said as she laid her phone down on the bed." I mean criminy! We all know Brainy is a mystery."
Phoebe let out a small sigh." Yeah, your right. But I still think we she should do a bit more research before we jump to-"
"Hold up Pheebs, hold that thought." Helga said as she suddenly felt her phone vibrate on the bed.
"Holding!" Phoebe said as Helga picked up her phone. As she read Arnold's message, a look of pure horror came across her face.
"Helga?" Phoebe asked in a concerned tone as she noticed Helga's change in facial expressions." Is something wrong?"
Helga sent a quick reply to Arnold, turned her phone off, and laid it back down beside her. She looked back up at Phoebe and swallowed the huge lump in her throat.
" Arnold and Gerald are at Brainy's house."
…
"Do you guys… wanna play… video games?" Brainy asked between wheezes as he opened the door to his room.
Brainy's room was… well boring to say the least. His room was characterized by a plain blue colored wall paper and a small bed with a light blue bedspread resting in the middle of his room. Across from his bed, was a small flatscreen television with a video game console hooked up to it. On the floor at the end of his bed, a small blue bean bag chair rested on the floor. Most likely the place where he sat while he played his video games.
"Thank you Brainy." Gerald said, giving Arnold an inside look as Brainy led them into his room." But, me and Arnold just came by to talk to you for a minute."
"Talk… to… me?" Brainy asked as he turned around to look at them. His wheezes seemed to be getting louder.
Arnold gave Brainy a warm smile. Although, he felt a bit creeped out on the inside. After all, he had all the right to feel that way. He knew that he could possibly be facing the guy that wanted to kill him.
"How have you been?" Arnold asked, trying to spark up a conversation with the wheezing teen.
"Uh… okay." Brainy replied, giving Arnold an unsure look in confusion.
"Well, um, good." Arnold replied. It sure was hard to keep a conversation going with Brainy.
"So Brainy." Gerald said as he comfortably plopped down on his bed." You like to take pictures?"
Arnold gave Gerald an unsure look. In return Gerald gave him a look that told Arnold he knew exactly what he was doing.
"Uh… pictures?" Brainy replied. His wheezes seeming to get louder for a second.
"Yeah." Gerald said with a nod." Pictures, like ones you take with a camera."
Arnold shot Gerald a smug look and got a nervous grin in response from Gerald.
"Uh… no." Brainy said as he turned his television on." My mom… has never bought me… a camera."
Gerald shot Arnold a smug look and sighed." Well, look Brainy. I'm gonna ask it to you straight. Do you have a crush on Helga?"
Arnold looked at Gerald with a shock while Brainy gave him a nervous grin in response. His wheezing had definitely gotten louder by now. He looked over to Arnold and gave him the same nervous look he was giving Gerald.
"You're here to… fight me… aren't you?"
"What?" Arnold said, feeling a bit hurt Brainy would assume that about him." No, I'm not here to fight you! I don't know why Gerald would even ask that!" He said, shooting Gerald a dirty look. Gerald just shrugged in response.
"Oh… well… to answer… your question… No, I don't have… a crush on… Helga anymore." Brainy said as he turned around to look at his T.V." In fact… lately I've had… another girl on my… mind."
"Who?" Arnold asked, feeling a bit confused as he crossed his arms across his chest. He hadn't known Brainy to ever have a crush on any other girl.
Brainy then turned around to look at Arnold and Gerald. He almost looked scared." You guys… have to keep it… a secret."
"Sure man." Arnold said in a sincere voice." Me and Gerald promise, right?" He said, shooting Gerald another dirty look.
"Oh y-yeah." Gerald said, turning his attention toward Brainy as he laid back on his bed." I promise too."
Bracing let out a nervous wheeze." Okay… well… I think I… like like… Lila."
Suddenly, an awkward silence fell throughout the bedroom. Arnold looked at Gerald to see the shocked look Gerald was giving him.
Arnold just sighed in disappointment. Once again, they were back at square one trying to find out who the mystery man was.
"So…" Brainy said, breaking the silence." You guys wanna… play some video games?"
Before either of the friends could respond, Arnold felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He brought it out to see that Helga had texted him.
…
"Well, what do we do Helga?" Phoebe asked, a look full of worry on her face." What if you're right?! What if Brainy is the guy that wants to kill Arnold?!"
"Well, you didn't seem to be worried about it two minutes ago!" Helga yelled, sounding irritated at Phoebe.
Helga then jumped up from the bed, accidently knocking her phone to the floor." Okay, okay! Maybe this isn't that bad! Maybe they're okay and everything is fine!" She said, trying to calm herself.
"You know what Helga." Phoebe said, giving her a confident look." I'm sure you are totally right. Everything is going to be alright!"
"Oh, who the hell am I kidding?!" Helga yelled in a somber tone as she paced to her left." Arnold and Gerald are in danger halfway across town because of me!"
Phoebe watched as Helga paced to her right now, a look of pure sadness in her friend's eyes." Helga, how is this your fault. I'm sure they're fine. I mean-"
"Forget it Phoebe!" Helga yelled as she turned to pace to her left." This is payback for all those times I was mean to Arnold! Maybe this is fate trying to tell me I should've been a better person in my youth!"
"Helga! How is that even relevant to the current situation?" Phoebe asked as calmly as she could as Helga paced back to her right once again.
Helga let out a deep and nervous sigh." I'm just a terrible person to Arnold! This is what I get for keeping secrets from him! This is what I get for not telling him what really happened over the weekend and-" She then clamped her hand over her mouth, realizing what she was saying.
"Helga?" Phoebe asked, giving her a friend a stern look." What are you talking about?"
'Damnit! Why do I have to open my mouth?!'
Helga, who was mid turn into pacing to her left, just removed her hand from her mouth and gave Phoebe a nervous look. There was no hiding the truth now. There was no way to cover this up. Not to Phoebe. She could read Helga like a book.
Instead of lying, Helga just let out a somber sigh. She dropped her head and walked back to her mother's bed.
Phoebe watched as she plopped down and propped up her arms on her knees. She rested her head on her propped up hands and looked back up at Phoebe with a somber look.
"Okay, I'll tell you."
…
"Bye Brainy!" Arnold said as he and Gerald felt the door to Brainy's house close behind them, leaving them alone in the cold wind now.
"Well, that was awkward." Gerald said as they walked down the steps of Brainy's stoop." I never thought I'd ever hang out with Brainy!"
"Well, it wasn't that bad." Arnold said, giving Gerald a knowing look." Just wish we would've found more answers out of that visit."
"You're telling me." Gerald said with a sigh as they started to walk back down the street again." I don't have a clue who it could be now!"
"Yeah, me neither." Arnold said, a bit of a somber tone in his voice now.
The teens continued to walk in silence for the next few minutes. For Arnold, this trip had felt like a total waste. No questions were answered, no discoveries were made, and nothing had been resolved. After all that, they were still at square one.
That's when a sudden idea hit him like a freight train.
"Gerald!" Arnold yelled, catching his friend off guard." I know how I'll catch him!"
"And what is that?" Gerald said, rubbing his ear that was buzzing from Arnold's outburst.
"I know how we'll catch the mystery man! We'll let him come to me!"
Gerald gave Arnold an unsure look." Arnold, you're talking crazy my man! If what Pataki is saying is true, this guy wants to hurt you!"
"Exactly!" Arnold said, giving Gerald a smile now." He won't know that I'll be expecting it! It's a perfect plan! He'll come to me, and I'll catch him before he even knows what hit him! It's a perfect plan!"
"Yeah." Gerald replied." But, do you know exactly how you're gonna do this? I mean, this guy may hide in the shadows for all we know! Plus, you may have forgotten, but we have a football game Friday night!"
Arnold smirked in response as they rounded the block." That's why I'm just gonna make the excuse that I'm sick and I'll stay at home instead of sitting on the sidelines."
"Arnold, you are terrible at lying." Gerald said, giving him a knowing look.
"But I have to. I have to make this plan work." Arnold said with a tone full of hope.
"Arnold, you're a bold kid. Never forget that."
…
"And… that's it." Helga said, giving Phoebe the same somber look she had been giving her for about five minutes now.
She had finally done it. She had finally told someone about what really happened that night. The whole complete truth. And for some reason, she felt almost calm. Confession really is good for the soul.
"Helga…" Phoebe said, shock on her face." This whole time, you've been meeting up with Curly and you've been lying to Arnold?"
"Geez, you make it sound like I'm some dirty little slut." Helga said, giving Phoebe a scowl now.
"Sorry." Phoebe said with a shaky sigh." I guess I'm just in shock. You really need to tell Arnold."
"Phoebe I can't I-"
"Yes you can Helga. Now this is serious. If you won't tell him, I will."
"Phoebe!" Phoebe felt herself jump at Helga's sudden aggression towards her. She looked up to see Helga giving her the most serious look she had ever seen in her life.
"For Arnold's own safety, you have to keep this a secret!"
"What do you mean by Arnold's own safety?" Phoebe asked, giving Helga a confused look.
Helga sighed." Phoebe, if Curly finds out I told anyone his secret, he'd kill Arnold. He's already threatened him and my mother! Phoebe, please! You have to keep this a secret!"
In response, Phoebe felt her mouth hang open in shock." Oh my God Helga! I'm sorry. I didn't know it was that serious! I-"
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
Both of them gasped in shock. Helga looked over her shoulder to see her door opening.
Slowly but surely, Arnold and Gerald fell into their view.
"Arnold!" Helga yelled as she jumped up and ran towards him.
The next thing Arnold knew, he was in a bone crushing Helga Pataki hug.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" She said, squeezing her face into his chest.
"Yeah, I'm fine babe." He replied, wrapping his arms around her. Helga felt her heart flutter as he held her in his strong arms.
"You okay babe?" Gerald asked as Phoebe also enveloped him in a hug, pecking him lightly on the lips.
"I am now." Phoebe said, burying herself in his embrace.
"Hold on." Arnold said as Helga released his hug and pecked him on the cheek." You two sound like you were worried about us!"
"Um, doi! That's because we were!" Helga said, punching his shoulder." You had us worried sick that Brainy was about to murder you!"
"Then why wouldn't you answer my texts?!" Arnold replied as he rubbed his sore shoulder now.
That's when the realization hit Helga. She had dropped her phone a while back and had forgotten all about it.
Before she could respond, Gerald let out a laugh." Well, let's all go downstairs and get a cup of hot chocolate! Then we'll tell you all about our little trip to Brainy's house!"
Helga just shrugged." Sure, I don't see why not. Let me just grab my phone."
"Okay, just meet us downstairs. I'll go get it warmed up." Arnold said as Helga walked back into the room.
She heard the footsteps of the two boys start to fade as she walked back to her mother's bed.
"Helga?"
Helga jumped around to see Phoebe staring at her.
"Geez Pheebs! You gave me a heart attack!" Helga yelled, placing a hand over her pounding chest.
"Sorry." Phoebe said as she looked down at the ground." I just wanted you to know that, I'll keep this a secret for you. I know this means a lot to you."
"You sure?" Helga asked, feeling herself calm down.
"I promise." Phoebe said, giving her a confident look.
Authors Note: I'm back once again guys with another chapter! Glad to see you guys are still enjoying this story, I'm trying my best each week to give you guys the content you wanna read. So, don't forget to review, and I hope you guys enjoy!