Hi everyone! In this chapter, Helga wants to do something for Rodrigo to make up for all the things that she did to him. What does she do for him and where will this lead?
As Helga wondered through the school hallway, she was in deep thought about her feelings for Rodrigo. Even if she acknowledged it to herself, that did not mean she should pursue him. She still loved Arnold, and having feelings for Rodrigo was only making things more difficult, if not confusing. It made her feel that she was betraying her beloved football head, yet she knew that that was irrelevant to the real situation. Even if she wasn't experiencing any feelings of betrayal, she was still not willing in leaving behind Arnold. Plus, she was not sure if Rodrigo felt the same way. She only had the Christmas incident as proof that they had a moment together, but for all she knew, it could have been just the heat in the moment, nothing more. Even more so, she had firmly stated to him that she had a boyfriend, which ensured that Rodrigo will not make any moves on her. So she couldn't count on him to give her any indication otherwise. It was up to her to take the initiative, if she chose to.
As she continued walking, she then decided to put these thoughts aside and focus on another priority; making it up to Rodrigo. Helga was not joking when she told Gabriela that she wanted to make up to him for not only helping her, but also for giving him a hard time during their first encounter. But she wasn't able to come up with anything. In the previous weeks, she had attempted to get to know him in order to see what his interests were. To her dismay, she realized that she was not going to be able to make it up to him by buying him any material goods.
Rodrigo was an anti-materialist and not only did he not like things that typical guys wanted, but whenever she indicated to him of perhaps buying him something, he flat out refused, even if this included a few books that she knew he would have liked. She soon gave up on buying him something and focused instead of perhaps doing something for him, but what?
Meanwhile...
The school has been organizing one of its yearly dances and it was fast approaching. When Rodrigo hear of it, he decided to ask Gabriela to be his date, seeing as how she was new to this school, he wanted to support her. After his experience with Helga at Rhonda's Halloween party, he was not particularly keen on asking her to go to the school dance with her. Besides, as part of his agreement with Phoebe, he was keeping his distance, not wanting to induce any of their feelings.
"Hey Gabriela, what's up?" Rodrigo asked Gabriela during one lunch time.
"Just the usual. How about you?" she asked back.
"Eh, different bottle, same wine." he replied back while smiling. "Listen, there is a school dance happening soon and I was wondering if you wanted to come with?"
"Ya, I heard, but sorry Rodrigo, I'm already going with someone else." she said.
"Whoa, really? That fast, you leave a brotha like that hanging?" he exclaimed sarcastically, although he was not exaggerating his surprise.
"Hahaha, ya. I guess you were too slow." she said jokingly, as she flickered his fedora hat.
"Alright, alright. No worries, I'll go alone." he said.
"Why don't you ask Helga to go with you?" she asked.
"Ummmm...no. Before you ask why, I think you know why." he said.
"Oh come on. I know she almost ruined your night at that party, but she managed to salvage it, didn't she? You said it yourself that you ended up having a good time with her." she replied back.
"Fancy seeing you taking her side. I thought you didn't like her." he said
"Just because we're not friends does not mean that I don't like her. We've been talking a bit in our literature class and honestly...she's alright." she said
"Well I'm glad to hear that. But going back to your question, ya I did have fun, but I felt she went there mostly because she was forced to. She is not fond of parties, or in dressing up and I don't want to force her again if she doesn't want to." he said.
"Besides, if I go solo, I get to dance with the other beautiful girls there." he said with a smile.
"Oh really? So why did you bother asking me?" she said with an annoying look.
"I wanted to support you, seeing as how you are new to this school. Besides, you know me hermanita; I always look on the bright side from the worst of situations."
Meanwhile...
While Rodrigo and Gabriela talked, Helga was with Phoebe, walking down the hallway. By now, they both heard of the school dance and Phoebe was excited about it.
"The school dance is fast approaching and Gerald has already asked me to come with him. I'm actually a bit excited for this year's dance. Gerald has been practicing a bit and I can't wait to see how he will dance with me!" her best friend exclaimed.
"That's nice Pheebs, I'm glad you'll be having fun there; you'll knock'em dead. I'm actually thinking of going myself this year." she said.
"Really? Oh that's wonderful Helga!" she exclaimed with a bright smile on her face.
Helga had never bothered to attend any of the school dances, despite her friends' insistence. Apart from never being fond of huge crowds and the loud noise, going to a dance was always a painful reminder of what she lost. However this year was different.
"Ya, I'm thinking of asking Rodrigo to come with me." she said.
Phoebe's smile quickly disappeared when she heard Rodrigo's name. This wasn't lost to Helga. She had intentionally mentioned it in order to see Phoebe's reaction and to get her opinion.
"Helga, I'm glad that you are thinking of coming to the school dance, but I don't think going with Rodrigo is a good idea. I must be honest here; I believe that is a counterproductive adventure." she said.
"I know Pheebs, but I'm not doing it for the fun. I have a reason as to why I want to ask him. You know that I almost ruined his night at Rhonda's Halloween party and throughout the months after that, he has helped me a lot. I told you how him taking me to the Linkin Park concert helped me regain my creativity to write again. I have been trying to come up with something to make it up to him and to say thank you for a while. I initially wanted to buy him something, but that kid is more humble than a Franciscan priest. Frankly, this is the only thing I was able to come up." she explained.
"I think that is very nice of you wanting to repay him, but I must insist on reminding you of the dangers of that enterprise. Going to the school dance might ignite more feelings for him and I thought you wanted to get rid of them." she said.
"I do, but I'm confident that I can keep them at bay for just one night with him. Heck, I did it with Arnold for years, and I was in love with him! I think I can manage this. Besides, I think this is more important right now than my feelings for him. I'm not going to let them get in the way of me enjoying our friendship."
What did she mean when she said 'was in love with him?' Isn't she still in love with him? She thought. However, she decided not to inquire about this.
"Well, if you trust yourself to go through with this, then I support you. But if you need any advice or assistance, please tell me." she said.
"Thanks Pheebs, I'll keep that in mind." she said. Seeing Phoebe's reaction to her proposal, Helga intentionally hid a first part of her proposal. She knew that if she told her, she would not approve of it and would no doubt attempt to persuade her to end it. But Helga had already made up her mind that this is how she was going to repay Rodrigo.
History class...
When Helga arrived at their history class, she found Rodrigo already in his seat, reading. Trying to calm her nerves, she confidently walked towards her seat, and then sat down.
"Hey, Latino boy, what's baking?" she said.
"Nothing, just reading Jean-Jacques Rousseau's book, The Social Contact." he said.
"Fascinating, so listen." she began to talk quickly, before he got around to explaining what the book was about, which she honestly didn't care right now. "There is this school dance and I was wondering if you wanted to come with me? I've never gone before so this will be my first time."
Rodrigo immediately stopped reading and lifted his head to look at Helga with a stunned look on his face. But Helga wasn't done talking.
"But before we go there, I was also wondering, or rather I wanted to take you out for dinner if you're free." she said nervously.
What the f***?! He thought. She not only wants to go with me to the school dance but she wants to have dinner with me? What is this?
To say that Rodrigo was surprised was an understatement. He was completely speechless and he had no idea what make of this. Why was Helga asking him to go to dinner with him? Not really sure where she was going with this, he was not willing to find out. Remembering his agreement with Phoebe about keeping his distance, he decided to decline her offer, but gently and hope she would not take it personally. Heck if she did, he can argue that he thought she wanted to ensure that no feelings would develop between them, and taking him to dinner and a school dance were not exactly neutral areas.
"That's very nice of you Helga, but I don't think that's a good idea..." he started to say before Helga cut him off.
"Look, I want to take you out to say thank you and to say I'm sorry." she quickly interjected. She knew he would decline and she was ready for it.
"Thank you and sorry for what?" he asked.
"Sorry for giving you a hard time during the first months, for almost getting you suspended and for almost ruining your night at Rhonda's Halloween party. I haven't forgotten. And thank you for...being a good friend and helping me out, especially for helping me regain my creativity and inspiration to write. You have no idea how much that meant to me." she said.
"Helga, I've already forgiven you for those things and you don't have to repay me for anything. That's what friends do..." he attempted to counter, but Helga again cut him off.
"Look, Latino boy," she said firmly, as she was starting to lose her patience and was not going to take no for an answer. "This is just one night of me showing my appreciation, that's it. Despite what it may appear to be, this is not a date, pure and simple. Seriously, don't make it a big deal than it really is." she said as started to frown at him a bit.
Rodrigo was still unsure of where Helga was going with this, but she did have a good point. This is a highly rare moment of her wanting to show her appreciation, a fact that you did not take lightly. Besides, despite his agreement with Phoebe, he did say that he would not go to any places with Helga unless she made the first step. Well that, and you just did not say no to Helga and expect to get away with it. Finally, Rodrigo relented.
"OK, sure. I accept. Where did you want to go to have dinner and what time?"
"The school dance starts at 8pm, so we're having dinner at 6pm at the Chez Paris. I've already made reservations." she said.
"You've already booked it, even before you asked me?" he asked with an amazed expression on his face.
"I like to plan ahead. And that's 6pm sharp, got it bucko? So don't be late. And it's the Chez Paris, not the Chez Pierre." she retorted.
"Sure thing Helga." he said.
Just then, the teacher came in and started class, prompting everyone to look at him and start their lecture.
Night of the school dance...
As Rodrigo was getting ready for his dinner with Helga, he couldn't help but feel nervous about it, despite Helga's assurance that it was not a date.
I don't know why I'm so nervous. This isn't date. We're just going to have dinner as friends. We are not going to flirt, or kiss or do any of that crap. Damn it! This positive thinking is not working! I guess it must be because I'm still not sure how Helga feels about this. I know she does her best to hide her true intentions. I don't think she is lying when she said she wants to show her appreciation, but I can't be feel that there is something more to this story. He thought.
Rodrigo put on his bright blue shirt and black pants with black formal shoes. He had wanted to bring his fedora hat, but considering that he had to take the bus to get to the restaurant, then to school, he decided against it and simply combed his black, thick hair. Once ready, he went downstairs, grabbed his jacket, then went to catch the bus to go to the restaurant. They had agreed to meet each other there.
Rodrigo made it to the restaurant early; it was 5:55pm. He went inside, informed the waiter of his reservation, then was escorted to their dinner table. Rodrigo sat down and simply ordered some water for the time being while he waited for Helga to arrive. He didn't have to wait long.
Helga arrived soon after Rodrigo. When he saw her, he almost choked on the water that he was sipping. He remained motionless as Helga approached him.
Wow, she's so beautiful! He thought with his jaw hanging.
Helga wore a tight black dress that hanged up to her ankles, showing her curves. Her back was almost completely exposed, although Rodrigo wasn't able to see it. She wore a black leather jacket. She wore black semi-high heels. She wore little make-up, only some red lipstick and a bit of mascara. Most surprisingly, she had tied her hair up, allowing a great bulge to show, similar to how it was when she invited Arnold, Gerald and Phoebe to go to Chez Pierre in the fourth grade. So where was her pink bow?!
As she approached the table, Rodrigo was just staring her, admiring her beauty.
"Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer." she said with a smirk as she sat down.
Getting out of his trance, "I did; mental picture." he replied back with his own smirk. "You look really beautiful, Helga."
"Quit flirting, Rodrigo" she retorted, but then added softly, "But thank you. You're not too shabby yourself."
"Thanks. You took off your bow?" he asked.
Helga simply opened a bit of her hair, showing her pink bow firmly inside it, confirming that it is still there.
The waiter then came by and gave them their menus.
"Bonsoir monsieur et mademoiselle. Voudriez-vous écouter les spéciaux que nous avons pour ce soir?" (Good evening sir and miss. Would you like to hear the specials that we have for this evening?) the waiter asked them.
Helga just looked at him and asked, "You still working here garçon?"
The waiter simply smiled and replied back.
"Ah Ms. Helga. Nice to see you again. It has been a while since we last saw you."
The waiter noticed that instead of being with Arnold, she was having dinner with someone else, but the waiter dare not ponder about it.
"Likewise monsieur. Then I would like to have the usual, s'il vous plait." she said, as she handed back her menu to him.
"Très bien. And for the young gentleman?" he asked Rodrigo.
"Donne-moi une minute, s'il vous plait. C'est ma première fois ici." (Please give me a minute. It's my first time here.) He replied back.
"Pas de problème, monsieur. Finalement, quelqu'un qu'est un petit plus cultivé" (Not a problem, sir. Finally, someone that is a bit more cultured) He replied back, as we went off with Helga's order.
"Uh, ok?" he said as he looked at Helga. "Do you know him?"
"Oui. We have un civilisé understanding." she said while smiling.
"I take it you have been here before?" he asked.
"Sure have, more than once." she replied back.
It didn't take long for Rodrigo to find out what he wanted to order. It also didn't take their waiter long for him to return with Helga's water.
"Serveur, je suis prêt. Puis-je avoir le bœuf bourguignon?"
"Bravo, monsieur. Un excellent choix." he said with a smile, then left the two teens alone.
"Thank you for bringing me here, Helga. It's a beautiful place." Rodrigo started to say.
Helga simply smiled and said nothing.
As Rodrigo looked on, he quickly scanned Helga's mannerism and concluded that despite appearing to be calm, she was hiding something.
Hm, she seems too calm, too relaxed for this not to be bothering her. He thought.
By now, Rodrigo had gotten to know whether Helga was actually calm and reserved, or if something was aggravating her without her saying a word. It wasn't an easy thing to pick up, as Helga was quite good in often hiding it. But if one paid close enough attention, one could tell the difference. If one saw Helga actually trying to be calm and relaxed, then something was definitely bothering her, but you could only tell if she was quieter than usual, and if you saw her entire body tense up.
Rodrigo's instinct on this was correct. Helga was extremely nervous about the whole dinner event. Had it not been for the cold weather, she would have been perspirating. She initially thought she had it under control, but it was only when she was on her way to the restaurant that her confidence started to waver. Her fear was not being in Rodrigo's presence, as much as triggering another 'heat in the moment' and this was seriously cutting it too close.
Worse still, she was finding that she was enjoying the whole dinner scene with him. It didn't feel particularly romantic, but it was nice to be dressed up, dine together and just be alone with each other.
"Oh and thanks for emphasizing which restaurant to go to. I almost went to the wrong one when I got here. It's easy to confuse the two." he said.
"Well good thing you didn't go to the wrong restaurant. I wouldn't have wanted you think I was standing you up." she said.
"I wouldn't have thought that. I know you are not the type of person to do something like that, unless there is a seriously good reason. And besides, if I was over there, I'm sure you would gone there and dragged me out of there." he said with a smile.
"You would have to have dragged yourself out there. I'm somewhat banned from ever going in there." she said sheepishly.
"Why, what did you do? You called the health department on them?" he said jokingly with a smile.
When Helga did not return the smile and said nothing while looking away, Rodrigo then realized that this was no longer a joke.
"Really? You got them in trouble?" he asked.
"Ya, I did, but it wasn't something that they did." she said, hesitating on whether to tell him the whole story. She wasn't sure how he would feel about it.
When Rodrigo said nothing and merely stared at her, she relented.
"Ok. Back in the fourth grade, I won tickets for four people, myself included, to dine in this restaurant for free. At that time, Arnold was eyeing someone, saying how 'sophisticated' she was and all that. Wanting to convince him that I could also be sophisticated, I arranged with Phoebe to invite Gerald and Arnold to dine with us."
Although Rodrigo did not show it, he was mentally smiling at how Helga was attempting to win over Arnold. It was very adorable if not romantic of her trying. He could instantly picture all four of them, as kids, dressed up, with Helga trying to be sophisticated around Arnold.
That's soo cute of her...and so sweet. He thought.
"My error was that I accidently reserved at the wrong restaurant; the Chez Pierre." she continued. "I did not know of this until the bill came. Panicking, I took Phoebe to the washroom and hatched a plan to get out of this. To buy more time, I ordered more food to our table until I was able to think of something. In the end, having no other options, I called Nadine to bring in some of her bugs and to release them onto the restaurant floor in order to get them into trouble. It worked and my table, along with everyone else, left the restaurant in disgust and refused to pay. We were scott-free, but Arnold and Phoebe were not happy with what I did to the restaurant, just to get out of not paying the bill. They insisted on going back and telling them what happened. In the end, out of guilt and also of wanting to impress Arnold, I decided to go back and tell them the whole truth. As payment, all four of us had to clean all of the dinner plates and utensils for the night, for free. Despite what I did, Arnold was still impressed with me eventually coming clean, and we even played around a bit with the water, just spraying at each other, but it came at a price. When we were done, the store manager asked us whose idea was it and when I stepped forward, the store manager informed me that due to my age, he will not be filing charges against me, but he made it clear that I will no longer be allowed to dine at his restaurant. He took a picture of me to make sure all staff members knew that I was not allowed on the premise. If I was ever caught trying to get in, he would call the police immediately."
Rodrigo's mental smile completely disappeared after she told him this story.
Whoa, she's a real piece of work. He thought with some bitterness. The nerve of what she did, all just to get out of paying the bill?!
Rodrigo had to really mentally fight hard to try and not judge her, let alone to not lost any respect for her. He had to convince himself that she did ultimately come clean with what she did and she did pay a price, but for him, that was not enough. If he had to be honest with himself, had he been the restaurant manager, he would have called the police and filed charges against her without hesitation. As far as he was concerned, NO ONE was above the law, not even family. He had to really struggle with his conscious, but he managed to succeed, just barely.
When Rodrigo said nothing for a while, Helga, getting suspicious that he was judging her, and hoping this would not ruin their night, said to him,
"It's not really my proudest moment, Ok? And if you must know Latino boy, getting my picture taken so that other random people would surveillance me, like a criminal, was pretty humiliating."
Rodrigo knew he had to say something reassuring, but he really did not know what to say to her. He found the whole thing very troubling. Heck, he still had trouble coming to terms how Arnold managed to forgive her after all the crap she did to him. But he didn't want to ruin this night. He knew Helga would never forgive him for it.
"Sorry, Helga I wasn't judging you. There's nothing to judge. You eventually came clean and you paid the price for it." He lied. "I'm just surprised that after all of that, Arnold was still impressed with you. But I don't blame him. It does take guts for someone to go back and confess to something that they did. And in some way, you should be proud of that." This last part he was not lying to her.
Thankfully, Helga believed him and calmed down a bit.
Just then, the waiter came with their dinner. Helga had ordered the confit de canard meal.
"Bon appetite." The waiter said to them before he left them again to enjoy their meal.
"I take it then since you are banned from that restaurant, you came with Arnold to this one?" he inquired.
"Yup. This is where we were supposed to have dined anyways." she replied back.
"What did Arnold say about that episode after you guys got together?" he asked.
"He thought it was cute how I was trying to impress him, much to my embarrassment. Arnold said the same thing to me what you said; that it takes guts to go back and not just admit your mistake, but to admit your attempt in trying to cover it up." she replied.
"I happen to agree with him. I'm actually kind of envious of him." he said.
Helga was taken a bit back by that remark and started getting a bit suspicious.
What does he mean by being envious of him? What is he trying to say? She thought.
"Why are you envious of him?" she asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"I think it's nice that Arnold had someone who liked him and was trying to get his attention. I had it in reverse. Back in LA, I was the one who was chasing someone I liked." he said.
Helga couldn't help but be a bit disappointed by his answer. But she nevertheless put that aside.
"Did you managed to get her?" she asked.
"Nope. I one day confessed to her about how I felt about her, but she didn't return my feelings. Unrequited love, really." he said.
Helga knew all too well what that feels like. Despite being glad that this girl rejected him, she also felt strong sympathy for him. It was never a nice position to be in.
"I'm sorry to hear that." she said. "Have you ever been with anyone?"
"No, not really. I mean I flirted a few times with some girls, but it never went any further than that. That or I knew some girls liked me, but I never liked them and I wasn't willing to date anyone whom I didn't like and vise versa. I have known people who have done that and it created a lot of drama, not to mention their hearts being broken. Unlike you, Arnold, Gerald and Phoebe, I haven't yet met anyone." he said.
Helga was a bit surprised by this.
"Please tell me you at least went to dinner with someone." She said.
"On a date? No. Just to hang out? Yes, plenty of times. Just because I've never dated anyone doesn't mean I'm completely ignorant on how dates work and stuff. I may lack experience, but I'm pretty knowledgeable about it, courtesy of my friends having to come to me to solve their 'dating' problems." he said with a smile.
Helga couldn't help but smile at Rodrigo's innocence.
"That's cute." She said.
"Thanks. I do look rather cute." he said back with a cocky smile.
Helga merely rolled her eyes at his cockiness.
The two teens then proceeded to continue eating their dinner, while chit chatting. All in all, they were both enjoying their evening together and they both started to relax a bit, not thinking whether or not this was a date. It didn't matter at this point. All they knew was that they were enjoying each other's company and they both decided to just concentrate on that.
After finishing their meals, Helga paid the bill, despite Rodrigo's insistence on at least paying some of it, but she refused. Once all that was settled, they got up and proceeded to get to school for the dance. As they were walking towards the exit, they were busy talking while walking that neither of them saw another person from outside rapidly walking to get inside. The person also was busy looking at his phone and did not see the two teens approaching the door. All three people approached the door simultaneously, but the person was the first to grab the door, swung it hard towards Helga, hitting her right in the nose, which created a loud bang.
"OW! Damn it!" she screamed in pain.
Although the door didn't knock her off of her feet, her nose started bleeding. She groaned and tried to deal with the pain. Rodrigo and the guy were completely stunned at what just happened and for two seconds, said nothing other than looking at a injured Helga in horror.
"Dude, watch where you are going?!" Rodrigo finally exclaimed to the guy.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! Miss, are you alright? It was an accident..." the guy attempted to apologize, but Helga cut him off.
"Does it look like I am alright, you idiot?! You busted by nose!" she yelled at him as she gave him a deadly glare, then grabbed his shirt and was about to pummel him.
"Let's see how your date will like it when she sees your face after I'm done with you!" she yelled at the guy.
Rodrigo immediately grabbed her arm, trying to prevent her from hitting the guy and then went between him and her.
"Whoa, whoa Helga, stop! It's not worth it! It was an accident" but she refused to listen and still attempted to get to the guy, but Rodrigo didn't allow her and quickly gestured at the guy to leave before she got to him.
The guy, other than still apologizing, said nothing and quickly made his way towards his table.
Rodrigo had to almost drag Helga out of the restaurant. Thankfully she was so focused on the guy that she didn't attempt to hit him. He pulled her towards a bench, put her and his coat on her to prevent her from freezing, had her sit down, grabbed some tissue from his pocket and gave it to her to plug her nostrils. He then grabbed some snow from the ground and gently put it on her nose to get it to stop bleeding. After a few minutes, her nose finally stopped bleeding, but she was still in pain. Rodrigo asked if he can touch it to see if it as broken, which she gave her permission. Luckily, apart from it being bruised and bleeding, it was not broken.
"Helga, I think we should call it a night. You are hurt. If you want, we can just chill in my room and talk and I can make sure your nose is ok. We don't have to go to the dance..." he said but Helga cut him off.
"Oh no you don't, bucko! I'm not going to let that blind idiot ruin my date tonight! I said I was taking you to the dance and that's where we are going!" she yelled.
Helga then got up, grabbed Rodrigo by this shirt and started dragging him to the bus stop in order to get to the school.
Date? Did she say this was a date?! I thought we were just hanging out? He thought as he was dragged along.
Rodrigo was never fond of people grabbing him by his shirt. He usually deemed that form of aggression as a threat, which he would normally chastise them for. However in this case, he couldn't help be feel that he kind of liked it when she was like this; it demonstrated her resolve, not to mention her confidence; two traits that he always liked in a woman.
Wow, what a woman! He thought excitedly.
Once on the bus, Rodrigo continued to nurse Helga's nose, giving her new tissue to and constantly reminding her to lift her head up. Helga attempted to give his coat back but he refused, stating that she needed it, given her dress.
"Aren't you freezing?" she asked him.
"A bit, but I'll live." he responded back.
"How did you even manage to get to the restaurant like this? It's freezing!" he exclaimed.
"The price of beauty" she replied back.
"Helga, are you sure you still want to go to the dance?" he asked her.
Helga only gave him a scowling face, indicating her stubborn resolve to take him.
"Alright, alright, I was only asking." he said.
Eventually, they made it to the school. Rodrigo grabbed her hand and help her get off her sit, then helped her go down the bus stairs. They made it just in time, as the school dance had just started. They quickly made their way inside the school to get away from the cold weather. Once inside, they made their way to the lunchroom, where the dance was being held.
Along the way, they saw their friends, waiting for them to arrive. Phoebe and Rodrigo had already spoken to them that Helga was coming to the dance, but they had all assumed that she was coming alone. When Phoebe saw them coming together, she was not surprised. But she became concerned when she saw the tissue up her nostrils and her bruised nose, as were all their friends.
"Whoa, Rodrigo what did you do to her? Did you finally snap?" Sid jokingly asked him when he saw her.
"Can it Sid." Helga snapped at Sid, while giving him a frowning face.
Rodrigo was about to explain to everyone what happened, when Helga quickly intervened.
"Well, if you people must know, I was walking towards the bus stop when I slipped and fell and I hit my nose on the bus stop post. By sheer coincidence, Rodrigo was also making his way towards the bus stop where I fell and he helped stop my nosebleed. What a wonderful night to start my evening!" she said sarcastically.
Rodrigo looked at her with a perplexed and surprised look on his face.
Did she not tell anyone about taking me to dinner? If this wasn't a date, why bother hiding it? He thought.
Despite his surprise, he followed her lead.
"Ya, that's pretty much what happened." he said.
It was a sketchy story, but everyone bought it, except Phoebe and Gerald. Gerald especially was now catching on to them and was starting to get suspicious, but for now didn't say anything.
"Well good to know that Rodrigo was there when he needed to be. So what does everybody say we go inside and dance?" he said.
Everyone agreed and walked into the dancehall.
Despite the incident, both Rodrigo and Helga didn't allow that to tarnish their night and almost immediately started having fun. To Rodrigo, Phoebe and Gerald's surprise, they noticed that Helga was more relaxed and social than at Rhonda's Halloween party. She not only was conversing more with them, but she even seemed to be smiling more. Phoebe decided not to ponder about Helga's sketchy story and just let her have her night.
What's more, Helga was more willing to dance with Rodrigo and even pulled him to the dance floor on a few occasions.
"Hey, I like this song. Come, let's dance to it." she said as she pulled Rodrigo's arms.
"Ok, Hel- whoa!" he exclaimed, as he was almost dragged to the dance floor.
Although Gerald was initially glad that Helga was enjoying herself, he quickly got suspicious again when he saw them both dancing at a slow song. It wasn't that they were dancing to this song that bothered him; it was the way Helga was dancing with Rodrigo. Gerald had noticed that with this song, Helga wrapped her arms around Rodrigo's neck and was very close to him, way too close for comfort. On other occasions, Helga simply had one arm around his waist while Rodrigo held her other hand with his hand up high, while keeping a distance, but no more. He had also noticed that they have been dancing a lot together throughout the night, with Helga rarely leaving his side.
No longer willing to stand this, Gerald decided that after the dance, he needed to have a talk with Rodrigo about this. Normally, he wouldn't care if Helga and Rodrigo were courting each other, but Helga was still with Arnold and since his best friend was not here to defend himself, Gerald felt it was his responsibility to find out what's going between the two teens.
While Gerald was giving them the suspicious look, both Helga and Rodrigo were busy talking to each other while dancing.
"How's your nose?" he asked her closely to her ear.
Being so close to him gave Helga a nervous, but exciting shiver down her spine when he whispered into her ear. She was starting getting nervous around him now, but she couldn't help herself. She wanted to be close to him, but at the same time felt completely uncomfortable with it. Ignoring her conflicting emotions,
"It's better...thanks." she said nervously. "I hope you're enjoying yourself."
"I am, thank you Helga. It has been a very nice evening. I will never forget it." he said while smiling at her.
"Good, see that you don't. I paid a hefty price for tonight." She said with a smirk.
At this point, Rodrigo looked at her and simply smiled at her, but said nothing. Then, Helga gently pushed Rodrigo a little closer to her, and then leaned her head against his, prompting him to get nervous again. He was so close to her that he was able to smell her hair and realized it had a flowerily smell. It was sweet but not too strong of a smell. Being so close to each other prompted both their hearts to beat faster but at the same time felt relaxing and just...nice. Unbeknownst to each other, both teens then had the urge to look up and share a kiss. But none of them dare to move, know full well of its consequences.
Sure enough, the song ended, giving Rodrigo the excuse to pull himself away from her. Rodrigo realized that this was too close for comfort and decided not to get that close again for the rest of the evening. Helga also realized her mistake and kept her distance as well.
After the school dance...
Rodrigo and Helga took the bus home. Their friends decided to get something to eat before heading home, but Rodrigo and Helga declined to go with them, making the excuse that they were both tired. While riding the bus home, Rodrigo decided to inquiry on what she meant by 'date'.
"So I thought this wasn't a date?" he suddenly asked her.
"What?"
"Back at the restaurant, after the guy hit you and I suggested calling it a night; you said that you were not going to let him ruin your date. I thought it wasn't a date."
"It wasn't." Helga quickly countered. "I meant it as a friendly dating night, not an actual 'date' date. I misspoke. I was more focusing on the pain then trying to talk to you, if you recall."
Rodrigo however, was not convinced. He could tell with the way Helga was talking to him that she was hiding something.
"Helga, is there something that you want to talk to me about?" he asked him.
"No, I don't. There is nothing to talk about. This wasn't a date." She insisted firmly.
Rodrigo then smiled, leaned against his seat and then said nonchalantly, "Ok, cool." giving the impression that he was happy with her response, but he wasn't. On the contrary, he felt disappointed in hearing her say that, but there was nothing he could do or say. It was true, she had a boyfriend whom she loved and despite his feelings, he was not going to come between them.
Helga also felt a bit said and hurt for saying that to him. Worse, she bought into his facade and thought he was completely ok with it not being a date. Despite her resistance, she had somewhat hoped he would gave her some sort indication that he wanted it to be more than just a hang out. Feeling disappointed, she just slumped into her seat as she waited for the bus to arrive at her stop.
While neither said anything to each other, Rodrigo was in deep thought, thinking about her behaviour towards him tonight and it was confusing him, if not irritating him. He wasn't dense; he knew she was giving him hints and clues that she may have feelings for him. However, what irritated him was why was she doing that when she had a boyfriend?
Why would she give me hints and clues if she refuses to acknowledge her feelings to me? Does she have feelings for me? Is she playing me? Is she even still with Arnold? What's her angel? Is she confused? I don't think she is the type of person to play people like this, but I cannot allow her to just get close to me or behave like this, only to deny it. That's not right. Ugh, I have so many questions, but I cannot simply go to her and ask her. She will just deny it. I hate not knowing. Frankly, I don't think she even knows what she wants, which is fine if she needs to figure things out, but she shouldn't be leading me on like this. He thought.
Helga was also in deep thought, reeling from tonight's events. While she had a good time with Rodrigo, she knew she got in way too deep on the dance floor. Worse, she was now kicking herself for exposing so much to him and to everyone else!
Crimeny, I can't believe I went that far with him! That was soo stupid of me, especially doing it in front of everyone. I know Phoebe and Gerald must have caught on to what was happening and I know Phoebe will have a few words to say to me this coming weekend. I really have to keep my distance until I figure things out with myself first. The last thing I need is for Rodrigo to think I am some sort of a skank who hits on people while having a boyfriend. She thought angrily.
Finally, the bus arrived at Helga's stop and both teens got off. Rodrigo was going to walk her home, but Helga stopped him.
"Listen, it's cold tonight, you don't have walk me home. You should go home. I can take it from here." she said.
Rodrigo was about to protest, but seeing as how cold it was; he was relenting to her advice.
"Are you sure? It's not a problem for me." he said.
"It is a problem for me, knowing that you will be freezing by the time you get home. Relax Latino Boy; you already took care of me this evening." She said with a smile.
"Well, it was the least I could do. But ok, I'll go home. Just text me when you get home, ok?" he said.
"Sure, night." She said.
"Night" he said back before turning around and making his way home.
Rodrigo didn't regret not walking her home. By the time he made it to his house, he was freezing. Thankfully, Helga's house was closer so she made it home before he did. She texted him as promised, confirming that she was home safe.
Saturday morning...
After finishing her breakfast, Helga went straight back into her room to finish her letter for Arnold.
I really wish you were here football head. It would have made things so much easier than they are now. I am now at a crossroad and I have no idea where to turn. I would say logic dictates where I should go, but it is not my rationality that is confused. No, it is my heart. It is being torn between two directions and it is brutally painful. Last night I took Rodrigo out to dinner and took him to our school dance. I did it to make up for my past transgressions and to say thank you for being a good friend. Needless to say, I bit off more than I can chew...and I liked it.
I'm not sure where I should turn. I really could use your wisdom at this time, but we both know why I don't send you any of my letters. It has been a hard road these last few years, and I cannot describe to you just how tired I am of this. I want this to end, Arnold. No, I don't want to end my life, but I do want to end these conflicting emotions. I just want to make a decision and just move on, I really do. But all I have left that I cherish on this pathetic blue planet are my memories of you and our time together. It is completely crushing to me at even the thought of having to let them go.
I don't know what I should do and I can't keep leading Rodrigo on like this; it is not fair to him, nor to myself, not even to you. All my mind keeps saying is to 'take baby steps', but that is easier said than done. I still have not made it known to anyone about our relationship status; I just can't tell them. I feel that to do that is to lose all sense of hope, all hope of you one day coming back to us, coming back to me. And I will not lose hope! It's all I have left!
Sorry to taking this all on you football head, but I just needed to write this down and get it out of my system. I hope all is well on your end.
Yours truly,
Helga G. Pataki
Once she was finished, Helga then sadly put the letter inside her binder. She then picked it up and put in her closet. After taking a deep sigh, she then went to her bed to lie down.
What to do, what to do, what to do...She thought to herself, as she began to listen to some music.
Just a few responses to some reviews:
Call Me Nettie: After empressakura655 introduced me to the concept, everything made much more sense to me, especially how Helga behaved towards Arnold as a tsundere and why Arnold kept coming back to help her. It wasn't just because he felt bad and wanted to help; he was also doing it because he got some sort of enjoyment out of it.
UloveMe143: Hahaha, yup! I feel the same way about Helga needing to move away from Arnold. And yes, psychology is never a sure thing. That's why scientists either typically look down at psychology, especially psychoanalysis, or become heavily involved in it, as such as in neuroscience.
I also want to provide people with information that there are different types of loves. There are those that are deeply passionate and intense and those that are romantic, while others are just compassionate about each other. It also depends on people's personalities. We will have to wait and see how things go between Rodrigo and Helga, but clearly something is going on between those two lol.