Chapter 7: Feelings And Ice Cream
Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold. :)
It was Monday. He hardly got any sleep over the weekend. Dragging his feet, a tired football-headed boy went to open his locker. In fact he was so tired that he got his locker combination wrong several times. His best friend walked over to him and smiled. However his smile dropped immediately when he witnessed the way Arnold looked.
"Man, you look horrible...and exhausted."
Arnold finally got his locker to open and rolled his eyes.
"Way to state the obvious Gerald."
"Is there any particular reason why you're exhausted?"
Arnold scoffed. "I'll answer that once I get a cup of coffee."
"No problemo bro! Be right back!" Gerald exclaimed running off.
After a few minutes he came back handing Arnold a cup of coffee. Arnold swiftly took it and drank it without another word. "Feeling better?" Gerald asked and he nodded. Once all the coffee was gone, Arnold looked a little better than before. At least he was full of energy.
"So, are you going to tell me why you came to school exhausted or..."
At that moment, they both saw Phoebe and Helga walk into the school together casually talking about something.
"Shhh!" Arnold panicked and ran dragging Gerald with him to the janitors closet. He locked the door and turned on the light switch.
"Okay Arnold what is going on-" he asked with an eyebrow raised waiting for an answer.
"Gerald, what I'm about to say will blow your mind or the tall hair off your head. When I tell you, you must solemnly swear that you won't freak out or shout. And you cannot TELL ANYONE, and if I find out so much as a peep going around about this outside of us two, I swear I will kill you, bring you back to life, and then kill you again. Do I make myself clear?"
Gerald's hand immediately went over his heart as a pledge.
"I swear to never tell anyone about what you're going to tell me. My lips are sealed."
Arnold shivered and muttered quietly. "I like Helga."
Gerald raised a brow. "Pardon? I couldn't hear you."
Arnold muttered a little louder and quicker this time. "IlikeHelga."
"I'm sorry Arnold, you're mumbling-"
He let out a frustrated sigh and threw his hands in the air. "I LIKE...HELGA!" He yelled very loud. A few students turned their heards toward the direction of the janitors closet and kept walking.
In the hallway Helga looked over to Phoebe raising an eyebrow
"Did you hear something?" She asked.
Phoebe looked at her blankly. "No."
In the janitors closet...
"Shh! Okay Arnold not so loud. Do you want the entire city to hear?"
Arnold sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Sorry Gerald. But now you see why I'm exhausted. Thanks for not freaking out."
He smiled a little. "Hey, I meant what I said before over the phone. Now that you have a crush on her, when do you plan on telling her?"
Arnold shrugged. "Definitely not right away. I want to spend more time with her until the right moment comes along and then I'll tell her."
"You're a bold kid Arnold." Gerald chuckled and unlocked the janitors closet. Arnold chuckled and followed him out. They both got to Mr. Simmons class on time and sat down. Helga and Phoebe were still chatting with each other and laughing every once in a while. When class had started, Arnold tapped on his chin with a pencil. Suddenly he tore off a piece of paper out his notebook and scribbled something down.
-Hey, what day of this week do you want to get ice cream?
-Arnold
He turned around in his seat and sneaked the note onto her desk. Helga looked around the room cautiously and quietly opened it under her desk. She looked at him and sighed, writing something down.
It has to be next week because my sister Olga is in town. Bob has this whole sister bonding rule. Before you ask, he does this because it makes Olga happy. She basically gets whatever she wants.-Helga
After she was done, she slid the note onto his desk without anyone seeing. Arnold sat with his back facing her reading it. He turned around and gave her a look that said sorry and faced forward again. From behind him, Helga grunted in her head and went back to work.
(Fast forwarding to that Sunday)
In the dinning room around 7 P.M, Helga was sitting at the dinner table bored while her older sister Olga was going on about her accomplishments. Every now and then when Olga would glance at Helga, Helga gave her a forced smile to keep from getting in trouble. Suddenly there was a buzz from Olga's cell phone which meant it was time for her to go.
"Aw Olga, you're leaving already?" Miriam asked.
"When are you coming back?" Bob said.
"I know. This week flew by so fast. I promise to visit every one of you soon. Unfortunately my students need me and I have to go back right away."
Bob looked over to Helga. "Hey Olga, you mind walking your sister Olga to the door?"
Helga had to restrain herself from facepalming and broke out a smile. "I'm Helga dad, and sure thing." Olga grinned watching her baby sister walk with her up to the front door.
When they stopped, Helga was given a tight hug by her sister. "I surely enjoyed getting to spend quality time with you Helga. Call me if you need help with anything...especially Arnold."
Bob raised a brow, watching them from the dining room. "Hey, what's this about Alfred?"
Olga shook her head. "No daddy, I mean Arno-"
Helga slapped a hand over Olga's mouth and laughed nervously.
"UH N-NOTHING DAD! WELP, BYE OLGA!" Helga yelled and removed her hand. "But Helga!-" She said before the door slammed in her face. Sighing, Olga smiled knowingly and drove off in her car after putting her suitcase in the trunk. After she looked through the peep hole of the door to see her older sister drive away, Helga turned around leaning awkwardly against the door. Running a hand through her blonde hair, her dad came over with a raised eyebrow. She chuckled nervously while rubbing her arm and looked away.
Bob sighed. "I'm not even gonna ask." He made his way upstairs to his room to get some sleep. Helga washed the dishes before getting in the shower and going to bed.
Monday Morning.
Helga's alarm went off and she yawned, waking up. A sense of peace came over her once again, knowing that she'll have an opportunity to spend time with Arnold this week. Today she decided to go all natural without make up, wearing a dark purple t shirt and black ripped jeans with belt loops. Her hair was down but she left it in a beachy wave. For shoes, she wore white sneakers with pink shoe laces. This time she didn't wear her signature pink bow on her head, but instead used it for a belt. Undoing the bow, she moved it through each belt loop of her jeans and tied it into a knot. Looking in the mirror with content, she grabbed her backpack and started making her way to school.
At school...
Arnold was walking with Gerald until he saw her in the hallway. He told Gerald to meet them in class. They did their handshake and Gerald walked off to class.
"Hey Helga." He said walking up to her with a slight smile on his face. The key was to not give her any hints that he had a crush on her. Helga smiled at him casually while carrying her books. "What's up football-head."
"I was wondering if you wanted to watch to class with me?"
"Sure Arnold. Let me get a drink of water first." He watched as she drank from the water fountain and a blush crept onto his face. It soon vanished when she wiped her mouth and turned around. After staring into his eyes for a moment, she shook her head back into reality.
"Ready to go Arnold?"
He nodded. "Sure."
"Let's go." She gestured and walked off to class together with him. 'I can't believe it! My love has asked me to walk with him to class! How I adore your thoughtful, precious, kind soul!'
Arnold opened the door for her and she thanked him. They sat down in their seats and listened to Mr. Simmons teach the class of course. The day proceeded normally until the last class right after lunch came. Mrs. Clark reminded the students about the project she mentioned 2 weeks ago. The one about making a diorama dedicated to the life of your project partner.
"Arnold...your partner is...Helga Pataki."
Arnold and Helga both jumped in their seats at the same time. Arnold turned around to look at Helga who was just as taken aback as he was.
"All right class, this project will be due in a month. I expect you all to do your best and embrace your creative imaginations. Also this assignment will be done out of the classroom. I'd advise you to keep in touch with your partner in order to work on this. Everyone on board?"
Her class gave her a mumbled yes and everyone made their way over to their assigned partners. Arnold stood up and made his way over to Helga's desk. Chuckling he looked down at her. Mimicking a cowboy, he tilted his imaginary hat.
"Howdy partner." He winked.
Helga winked back at him. "Why hello there buckaroo."
Sharing a laugh they both started making plans for the project.
"Hey Helga, we can work on it at my place if you want."
"Sure, why not? I'm free after school this week. We can keep in contact and let each other know when we're open to work together."
"Okay. Well, see you after school Helga." Arnold said and walked back over to his seat. She took out her locket and swooned underneath her breath.
After school Helga was about to ask Arnold to walk with her when she witnessed a familiar red headed girl talking to him once again. In her head she knew that part of her wanted to get him away from Lila, but it would only make Arnold mad. Instead she simply sighed and grabbed her things out of her locker. Seeing it started to rain outside, she grabbed her umbrella and made her way over to the boarding house.
Knocking on the door, she saw a note that the boarders weren't there at the moment. Also, Arnold's grandma and grandpa had been out for their anniversary. The door was locked and Helga dropped her bookbag on the ground and waited for him. Her arms eventually grew tired of holding her umbrella and she sat it down beside her. The young girl sat up on the top step as the rain poured down harder by the minute.
After what seemed like hours, Arnold came there with his umbrella over his head. He almost dropped it when he saw the sight in front of him.
Helga had been sitting on the top step of the boarding house with completely drenched in rain. Her head was in her hands and her eyes were looking straight ahead.
"Helga!?" Arnold said and ran up the steps holding the umbrella over both of their heads now.
"Yeah?" She said still not making eye contact with him.
"C'mon let's get you inside! We can't have you getting a cold!"
Taking his hand, she watched him unlock the door with a key and they both went inside the boarding house. Arnold led her to the bathroom and grabbed a towel from out of the cabinet.
Tossing it over to her she began to dry her soaked blonde hair.
"You just stay in here for a minute and dry off. I have an extra pair of clothes in my room you can wear."
Before Helga could say anything he had already left the bathroom. Sighing, she continued to dry off her hair and her face. He came back and gave her a change in clothes for her to wear. To her surprise, he had a plaid shirt that was pink and some some blue jeans. Hesitantly, she took them and he shut the door.
10 minutes later, Arnold was listening to music through his headphones while doing some homework. Helga came in quietly and shut the door. Her hair was a little damp but dry enough to where it wouldn't drip. It was a bit messy, so she had brought a brush with her to make it look decent. Her homework was in her hand as well. Sitting down on the couch, she began to work.
After a few minutes Arnold looked up from his homework to see Helga doing her own by the couch. Blinking at her, he slid off his headphones and sat up in his bed.
"Oh hey Helga, I didn't see you come in."
Hearing his voice made her heart flutter.
"Well I uh...didn't think it was right to disturb you. I figured when both of us got our other homeworks done we could start working on the project."
He shrugged. "Okay. That's fine." and he went back to work.
When they were both finished, Arnold stretched out his arms and saw Helga by the window closing her textbook.
"How's the window for ya Helga?" He asked.
"It is the perfect place to study. It's almost like my quiet place while I'm doing my homework."
Arnold smiled at her. "That's good to hear."
He walked over and sat across from Helga. "Ready to work on our project?"
"Mhmm."
"Okay, who should start asking the other questions?"
"How about you Arnold?"
He shook his head. "No. Ladies first."
Helga gasped. "I thought you were a lady."
"Hey!" Arnold said and playfully shoved her in the shoulder. She shoved him back while chuckling.
"Okay, we're getting of track here Arnoldo! Let's start with you."
Sighing in defeat he had no choice but to give in. "So...what do you wanna know?"
"Tell me about your favorite things. Genre of music, favorite food, hobbies, people, that good stuff." Helga said while grabbing a clip board.
Arnold looked up at the ceiling. "Well I really like jazz, not to mention Dino Spumoni. I enjoy eating Italian food, my hobbies are riding my bike, playing sports, and playing with my pets. Especially Abner."
Helga looked up from the clipboard with an eyebrow raised. "Abner? Who's Abner?"
Arnold blushed and looked down to the floor. "Well...he's a kind of a pig."
"I'm sure he's not that bad Arnold."
"Huh? No I mean he's literally my pet pig."
"Can I meet him?" She asked.
"Uh sure...I'll bring him up. He's downstairs." Arnold said and walked to retrieve his pig Abner who was eating the last of his food from his bowl.
"C'mon Abner." Arnold said and picked him up in his arms. Helga watched him carry Abner into the room and her eyes lit up. Running over to him, she giggled and petted him with content.
"It's kinda strange isn't it." He said with his expression dropping a little.
"Are you kidding? You owning a pig for a pet is wicked cool! It's so adorable!" she said tickling it's chin and it screeched with delight grinning at her.
Arnold looked over at her in shock. 'She likes Abner?'
"Really, you think so?"
"Well of course! It's hard not to love this adorable pig. What did you think I was gonna do? Insult you or act repulsed?" She said rolling her eyes at the thought.
"Well kinda. Most girls find him gross or simply run away when they meet him." He said narrowing his eyes at the ground. He sat down Abner and sighed leaning up against the wall.
Feeling sympathetic and upset in her mind about the girls who were mean about Arnold's pig, she put a hand on a hand on his shoulder and sternly spoke.
"Well, if you haven't noticed already Arnold. I'm not like most girls."
He looked into her eyes and immediately put both of his hands on her shoulders.
"I noticed that Helga. Can you promise me this?"
Helga blushed and nodded. "What is it?"
"Please don't ever be like other girls. I really admire you because you're different and special to me. Will you do that for me?"
"I will." She said after staring into his beautiful emerald green eyes that made her heart beat with nothing but love for him.
He hugging her swiftly and took Abner down the stairs. Blushing madly at his gesture she made her way over to window and waited patiently for him to return. Coming back with a brighter attitude, he closed the door to his room and sat across from her.
"Any more questions for me Helga?"
"Tell me about your favorite people. You can start with your friends first because family is a more personal subject." She said grabbing the clipboard again.
Pondering, he went off to talk about his friends.
"Gerald is like a brother to me. I've known him since I was born. Ever since we met, I remember asking my grandparents if I could hang out with him. It's always been a blast. There were a few times we fell out over something small but we always made up in the end. Harold is a friend to me, even if he calls me a big fat badinsky sometimes. Stinky and Sid are my friends too and I find them both funny. Phoebe is my friend, even if we don't talk much. Rhonda may be a royal pain but she isn't so bad. Sheena's really nice. Oh, then there's Lila..."
Helga frowned at her name and mumbled for him to continue.
"As you probably remember that time you overheard Lila break up with me, I was depressed for weeks. That was...until I had this dream that made me get over her."
Helga accidentally dropped the clipboard into her lap. In a nervous fit, she sat it to her side. "Wh-What dream?" She asked. He blinked and looked away.
"No, it was just a stupid little dream I had."
"I promise not to laugh." Helga pleaded.
"Are you sure you wanna know? It kinda had you in it as well."
"Me? Well in that case, you have even more of my full undivided attention." Helga chuckled and folded her hands.
Arnold sighed and looked at her.
"You remember my cousin Arnie?"
Helga scoffed. "You mean that boring weird kid with the flemmy snort?"
Arnold nodded. "That's the one. In 4th grade, I remembered telling everyone that I couldn't play baseball after school one day because I was supposed to be out visiting him. When I went to sleep that same night, I had this weird dream. I met up with Arnie at what seemed like the middle of nowhere and he showed me his farm. After the tour was done, his girlfriend came and introduced herself. The funny thing was, she looked like Lila but her name was Lulu in my dream. Anyways I introduced myself and she suggested that Arnie show me around town rather than just his lint ball collection. We all headed into town and stopped at some candy store. There I saw Rhonda and Harold switch personalities and looked completely different. So did Gerald and Sid. Lulu asked me to get something off the shelf for her and tickled me, making me uncomfortable. Later we all went by some lake and there we saw Phoebe and Stinky switch personalities too. Lulu pretended to fall in the lake and I jumped in to make sure she was alright. She was but then tried to make me join her for some private swim. I reminded her several times that she was Arnie's girlfriend and I denied. Later at a movie theater she tried to kiss me and l pushed her away with disgust. I went outside to get some fresh air and I saw...well...you Helga."
Helga's eyes widened and she pointed to herself. "Me? What was I doing?"
"Your name was Hilda and you were gazing out at the stars. I swore I heard you reciting a poem from afar. You were sitting down and I accidentally tripped over you. You looked so pretty and sweet and I had a crush on you heheh. Unfortunately you liked Arnie instead of me. You let me down gently. Lulu meanwhile was trying to make me like her but I refused. Arnie thought I was trying to steal his girlfriend and wanted to fight me. My dream ended with everyone being possessed and yelling for us to fight. Before I knew it I woke up screaming."
Helga put her hand to her head. "What a crazy dream Arnold. I'm sorry it went down like that."
Arnold chuckled. "Don't be. Nobody can control it. On the contrary it did me a favor by helping me get over Lila. From now on, me and her can only stay friends."
"Is that why you hugged me on Gerald Field when you saw me?"
"Yup."
"Well that clears that up. I still can't believe Hilda fell for Arnie. I would never fall for that weird kid."
Arnold sighed in relief. "Good."
Helga grabbed the clipboard once again. "Are there any other friends you want to talk about?"
"Well there's one more...you."
"What about me?"
"How about we talk over ice cream? Besides I do owe you."
Helga agreed and they got ready to head to Slausens. It had stopped raining outside and the sky was in a beautiful sunset. Inside of Slausens, Helga watched as Arnold ordered to chocolate ice creams for both of them and they sat down at a table. Both middle schoolers talked casually about past memories until the waiter handed them ice cream.
"Hey uh Helga?"
"Yes Arnold?"
"You um...look really nice today. Especially everyday."
"Gee thanks Arnold. You always look nice yourself."
"Thanks." He smiled and they both started to enjoy their ice cream. This was fun! They had came so far as friends after a long rough past together. It made him happy to see her more comfortable around him. Throughout the day, there was denying that he had a crush on her. 'Hopefully we might grow to be more than friends one day.'
"I'm having a nice time with you Arnold. It sucks that I didn't think about doing this back then."
"Yeah, but at least we're spending time together now right?" Arnold put his hand over hers which was on the table.
"Y-Yeah. We are." She blushed a deep shade of pink. After removing his hand, the pair began to talk about other things that had no connection to romance or mushy things whatsoever.
When they were through they went back to the boarding house and sat down on the bed.
"Thanks for the ice cream Arnold. It was delicious." Helga giggled.
"Um...Helga you got a little ice cream on your face. Here, let me get for you." He slowly reached out his hand and wiped the chocolate off with his thumb. Helga was shocked at the gesture and started into his eyes. Arnold stared into her ocean blue eyes in return until Helga cleared her throat.
"So...what were you gonna say earlier?"
The football-headed boy scooted back and crossed his legs.
"Helga...you are the most mysterious person I know honestly..."
"Huh? I'm confused?"
"What I meant by mysterious is the fact that before we hung out at all this year, we rarely got along. Although I admit, even before now you weren't so bad to me."
Helga blinked. "What are you trying to say Arnold?"
Arnold sighed. "I can't exactly say too much because it might not be the right time. What I can say is that you are special to me. I care very much about you and I want to get to know you better. You are such a honest, sweet, beautiful person and I never want to stop being there for you."
Helga blushed as he gently took one of her hands and held it in his own. She had over a billion butterflies in her stomach, feeling like she was going to throw up. Her mind had completely shut down and the everything around them seemed to disappear.
"Really?"
Arnold smiled in assurance.
Helga's eyes twinkled like the stars above in the sky. It just made Arnold become more mesmerized at the sight of her.
"Helga? Do you maybe want to go to the cheese festival with me sometime?"
"Cheese festival? With you?"
"We don't have to go if you don't want to-"
Before he could finish, the blonde haired girl grabbed his other hand.
"Arnold, I would love to go with you to the cheese festival." Helga said with a small grin. Arnold blinked slightly in awe and then smiled.
"I was hoping you would."
Stay tuned for the next chapter.
Chapter 8: Night At The Cheese Festival.
[P.S. Arnold will still be interviewed about the project and then later Helga over the course of this fanfiction. Right now, I'm taking one small step at a time.]