Response to reviews:
Veganmama: Hey! Long time no see indeed! Good to hear from you again. Helga isn't really communicating with Arnold. She writes him letters, but doesn't send them. But they are together, which you already know from reading 'Civil War'.
Yeah, I wanted to portray Rodrigo taking the breakup pretty bad and for people to feel somewhat sympathetic. He's a shell from what he once was. As for his dancing friends, I didn't want to complicate this story any further, nor make it unnecessarily long, so I don't really include them, including Gabriela.
Oh yes, I have very intention of finishing this series. I'm stubborn like that, lol.
It had been about a week or so since the group started taking 'shifts' between hanging out Rodrigo and Helga and thus far, it had been manageable. Although the group was initially hesitant on dividing their attention between two people, not to mention being a bit weary about hanging out with Helga, they realized it wasn't all that bad. The group still managed to converse with each other, had fun, told jokes, even played a few sports. Even Helga's attitude wasn't all that bad and so long as you didn't annoy her too much, it wasn't bad at all in hanging out with her.
The initial downside was that the group had to quite literally split between Rodrigo and Helga, between males and females. This meant that the group couldn't really see each other during lunchtime. However, they soon opted to be more flexible by taking turns in either hanging out with just one person, or mixed together to allow one group of people, regardless of their sex, to hang out with Rodrigo, while the other mixed group hanged out with Helga. Either way, the ploy seemed to be working.
The change was especially apparent with Rodrigo. As the days continued to roll by, slowly, those that hanged out with him started to see a few positive changes in him. He began to talk more, smiled a bit, even laughed at a few jokes he heard. These changes were quite small though, as he was still prone to periods of sadness, having very little energy, not even to eat his lunch, and often times didn't say much. He obviously still had a long way to go. But for the group, it was off to a good start.
Rhonda, seeing these small changes and not wanting to lose momentum, decided to take a little initiative by inviting Rodrigo to go with her on a two hour massage session during one weekend, free of charge for him. Normally Rodrigo would have declined such an offer. He was never one to simply say yes to free offers unless he somehow contributed as well. It was the same whenever Rhonda invited him to attend the opera with her. Plus, he was still hesitant on fully embracing Rhonda's extravagant lifestyle and going to an upscale massage session was one of those extravagance. However, given the miserable and sad state that he still found himself in, he made no attempt to object to it and accepted it.
"You really think it will help?" Rodrigo asked her when they arrived at Rhonda's favourite massage location on a Saturday.
"Trust me, Rodrigo." Rhonda said with a smile. "The masseur will give the most exquisite, relaxing, breathtaking massage, one that I guarantee you shan't forget."
"Well okay." Rodrigo said, unsure. "What's the masseur's name again?"
"His name is Gus and he comes highly recommended." Rhonda replied. "After he is done with you, he will make you feel like a brand new person."
"Well Okay. If you say so." He said as he scratched his head.
The two teens then went inside for their appointment. Once Rhonda talked with the reception, they only needed to wait for about a minute before they were called up to go to their separate rooms to get changed.
"Wait. I have to take off my clothes?" Rodrigo asked, now growing a bit uneasy.
"Of course you do." Rhonda said. "How else is the masseur suppose to give you a full body massage?"
"Full body massage?" Rodrigo asked, never having realized just what their massage session actually entailed.
"Well yes. What did you expect this was going to be? Just a back massage?" Rhonda asked.
"Well, actually yeah." Rodrigo just innocently replied.
Rhonda just sighed.
"Oh mon pauvre ami." (Oh my poor friend.) Rhonda just said to him with a half joking, but also with a patronizing tone, as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "You have so much to learn. Let me show you."
Rhonda then directed Rodrigo to follow her to his change room. Rodrigo followed suit.
"It's quite simple." She said to him. "You simply take off your clothes, except your underwear. You grab these towels and wrap them around your hip. Then you go through those doors, into the massage room where a bed table will be waiting for you to climb up and lie down face down."
"I see." Rodrigo just said.
"Don't tell me you're self conscience about your body." She said to him.
"No, no, not at all." He said. "I just wasn't aware that I was going into a full body massage, that's all. This is my first time doing something like this."
"Good." She said as she began to walk out of the room. "I'll be going to my room to change. I'll see you in the massage room."
"Wait, you're going to be in the same ro-" Rodrigo began to say, but then Rhonda simply walked out and closed the door behind her, leaving Rodrigo alone.
After looking around for a bit and getting used to the dim lights and relaxing environment, Rodrigo did what Rhonda instructed and took off his clothes, save for his underwear. He then took a towel, wrapped it around his waist, looked around a bit and then slowly began to make his way into the massage room.
"Um, hello?" Rodrigo softly but nervously called out when he opened the other door, but found that the room was empty.
Inside it were two bed tables for him and apparently Rhonda. The lights were also dimmed, with soft, relaxing music being played out. There was even a water fountain that flowed water down. Just like in the change room, the lights were a mixture of purple, red, orange, with some blue, at least that's what Rodrigo thought he saw. Despite his uneasiness about the whole thing, he began to realize why people often go for massage sessions. Just the atmosphere itself enticed a strong of relaxation and calmness in oneself and Rodrigo was actually experiencing it. Already, he began to feel more calm, even weighing a bit less from the emotional burden that he had been carrying with him for more than a month.
Just then, a door across the room opened, revealing Rhonda as she entered the massage room. If Rodrigo was uneasiness before, seeing Rhonda in the same room was now unnerving him. Rhonda came inside wearing a long towel that was wrapped around from her upper body down, covering her breasts, waist and upper legs, with her now long hair falling completely down her back. Yet, despite being covered, Rodrigo knew that Rhonda was practically almost naked underneath, with only underwear still on and he was assuming that she at least had that! The sight of seeing a beautiful woman like Rhonda in such a scenario made him really nervous and uncomfortable.
If he was ever going to be in same room with another girl without her clothes, he had expected it would have been with Helga. Sadly, that was no longer the case. But now, he felt he was unexpectedly shoved into a situation that was the complete opposite. Here he was, standing in the same room with Rhonda Lloyd, a beautiful, but close friend, seemingly naked inside their wrapped towels. The towel actually, in some sense, made things worse. It showed Rhonda's curvy body and chest size. He wasn't sure what Rhonda thought about this scenario, but for him, he didn't like it. Whatever sense of calmness and relaxation he was once feeling was quickly evaporating.
Rhonda meanwhile, noticed Rodrigo explicitly just staring at her. But it wasn't the glance of a horny male teenager on the verge of losing control. No. The look Rodrigo was giving her was one of shock, uncomfortableness and perhaps even...horror, but in a good way. Nevertheless, Rhonda was not amused by his stare.
"Ahem." She cleared her throat, getting his attention. "It's quite rude to stare." She said to him with a frown.
"Oh right, right." Rodrigo nervously said as he snapped out it. "Sorry, Rhonda." He apologized as he quickly tried to climb on top of the bed table and lied down with his face.
Rhonda did the same and just silently climbed up and and lied down.
"So, when will the masseur's come?" Rodrigo asked.
"Soon." She replied. "Just relax. This is part of the session; just relaxing, enjoying the dim, but calm environment, feeling all that tension and stress slowly leaving you."
"Okay." Was all Rodrigo said, but nevertheless took her advice and began to relax again, even taking deep breaths.
Soon enough, the two masseurs, well one masseur and one masseuse, came into the room and after gently and politely introducing themselves, began to work on Rodrigo's and Rhonda's bodies.
Despite the initial shock and uncomfortableness, as well as the awkward stare, Rodrigo soon began to relax again and enjoy the session. Soon enough, the masseur began to work his magic as he began massaging Rodrigo's legs and feet. It didn't long at all for Rodrigo to be fully immersed in the session as his entire body let go of all that tension and relaxed. His mind too began to push away all worries and stress, leaving nothing but an empty space where it only began to listen to the soft music that was being played in the room. Rhonda too also relaxed and just enjoyed the session.
Rodrigo must have enjoyed it very much because around thirty minutes into the session, he dozed off. Rhonda noticed and could faintly hear his snores and just giggled a bit. This wasn't uncommon. Even she herself dozed off a few times. Gus was just that good and why she recommended him to Rodrigo.
The masseurs were not bothered by Rodrigo's nap. If anything, they took it as a compliment. Gus continued to work on his body while trying not to wake him. Unfortunately, when it came time for him to turn around and lie on his back, he inevitably had to wake him up, much to the Latino kid's embarrassment. Rhonda had to assure him that it was okays and he had nothing to be embarrassed about. Regardless, Rodrigo frantically apologized to Gus as he turned around to continue with the session.
Finally, after two hours, the session was over and both teens soon made their way back to their respective change rooms, got dressed, and then made their way out. True to Rhonda's word, Rodrigo came out of the massage session feeling better than he did when he went in.
"Wow, I do feel a lot better." Rodrigo happily said as he stretched his arms into the air, as if he had just woken up from a long and refreshing nap.
"See? What did I tell you?" Rhonda rhetorically remarked with a triumphant smile.
"Alright, alright, I admit. This was a great idea." Rodrigo admitted with a smile. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome." She said to him.
"Listen, I know you said you did this just to help me, but I insist on paying you back somehow." Rodrigo continued. "Let me at least pay for today's lunch."
"Rodrigo, you don't really need to do that-" Rhonda began to protest.
"No, I really do." Before Rodrigo quickly interrupted her. "It's my way of saying 'thank you'. Consider it as part of my 'therapy' session to get better." He continued with a smirk.
Rhonda just rolled her eyes at that smirk, but thought about it for a second.
"Well, I am bit famished." She admitted.
"Great! I know a nice, cozy, little restaurant we can go too." He suggested.
Rhonda was not particularly amused by Rodrigo's choice of where to have lunch. She would have preferred to go somewhere more...upscale. However, she had to remind herself that his budget was very limited when compared to hers and not wanting to dampen his mood, accepted his invitation.
"That sounds good." She casually said to him.
And with that, the two teens made their way across the mall to head to the restaurant to eat.
Despite Rodrigo's claim that the message made him feel a lot better, the relief was only short lived. By the next day, Rodrigo had reverted back to his depressed and inactive state. Well, not quite. The effect of that two hour massage session proved to have some long lasting effects. In the days after, Rodrigo did not completely revert back to his depressing state. He did feel a bit better, having retrieved some small amount of his energy back, even going so far as to play a few sport games with everyone.
Rhonda looked on with both relief, happiness and a sense of pride on her contribution to help Rodrigo out. Indeed, she was beginning to get a bit worried that he wasn't really moving on from Helga. But, she now had some really sense of hope that perhaps within a few more months, he could be completely over her and everything can hopefully resume back to how things were.
Meanwhile, unlike Rodrigo how was very slowly starting to get out of his depressing hole, Helga continued to struggle with his absence. It had been a hard month on not seeing him at all. Even though hanging out with some of her friends had made things a bit easier and had made her less irritable, she was still finding his absence upsetting. Every time she went to school, or went out to the park, or anywhere in the neighbourhood, she was reminded of him. She couldn't get him out of her mind. It was a terribly twisted, torturous turn of events. She had previously thought of nothing but Arnold for three years. And now, despite missing him terribly and wishing he was there with her, her obsessional thoughts of him had dissipated somewhat now that they were together again, with her now more able to focus on other things other than him. But instead of being able to do that, her mind was now preoccupied with Rodrigo, much to her frustration.
She missed him even more precisely because he was right there. She wanted to be with him, talk to him, hang out with him. At least hear his voice. But, she couldn't. He wasn't yet ready and she wasn't sure if he would ever be ready. And now, with September gone and going into October, Helga became even more upset at another growing feeling; she was beginning to normalize his absence. As the days continued to roll by, she found herself being less upset, sad and angry than when school started and it bothered her to no end.
She didn't want to forget him! She didn't want to move on with her life without having some sort of a relationship with him, or at the very, very least ending things on good terms. She wasn't sure why she felt this way, why she felt she needed to be friends with him.
Maybe I just value what I have with him. She thought about it one day as she headed home from school. Or 'had' with him. No, it's 'have'. I still have something with him. He just needs some space right now, get his emotions straighten out before we can resume our friendship. That's all he really needs; just some time and space.
Oh crimeny, what am I saying? Of course he doesn't want anything to do with me. She angrily, but also hurtfully thought. Why would he? I broke his heart, caused him nothing but pain, all because I'm not able to forget about stupid Arnold!
Still, I don't want to let him go. She sadly thought as she stared out the bus window. He's one of the few people I consider myself close to. I only have Phoebe and Arnold really. I don't have...anyone else.
Helga just let out a sigh and continued to sadly look out the bus window as it drove into the neighbourhood and close to her home.
When the bus arrived at her designated bus stop, Helga got off and went straight home. Upon arriving, she climbed up the stoop, unlocked the door and went in. Taking off her shoes, she made no attempt to yell out that she was home, not that they would have heard her anyways, and was about to head straight to her room when she heard Bob talking to Miriam.
"Come on, B. Aren't you being a little harsh on Helga?" Miriam asked him.
"No, I am not!" Bob just blared out his answer at her. "She dumps Rodrigo for someone who lives thousands of miles away and who broke up with her in the first place! How could I not be harsh?!"
They are...talking about me? Helga wondered in thought.
Despite Bob's chastising of her decision to end things with Rodrigo for Arnold, Helga found it really intriguing that her own parents were talking about her. To an average female teenager, they wouldn't thought much about it. But for Helga, this was shocking news! And too irresistible for her not to step closer to hear better...
"B, you know that the heart wants what the heart wants." Miriam said. "It's not easy to forget your first love."
"Ya, ya, I know." Bob agreed with her. "But she should have at least tried! Crimeny, she had three years to get over him! Even when she started dating Ricardo-"
"Rodrigo, Bob." Miriam dryly corrected him.
"Right Rodrigo, whatever." Bob said rather dismissively. "The point is that even while dating him, she still wasn't able to get over Archibald! And now that she is back with him, she is being all mopey and depressed again. I mean, just looking at her that way again is making me depressed!"
"B, it's her decision." Miriam defended Helga. "And it's not like she is with someone who is a delinquent or a bad influence. This is Arnold, after all."
"That's not the point, Miriam." Bob firmly protested. "She is back to square one again. What was the point of her dating Ramirez? Just so she can literally crawl back to Anthony and be all mopey and irritable again? It's as if the girl enjoys being miserable."
By this point, Helga had heard enough. Fuming at her own father's insensitive remarks about her, Helga just quietly stepped away from the entrance of the living room and climbed upstairs and into her room.
As soon as Helga entered her room, she quietly shut the door behind her,but not out of choice. Fuming at what her father said about her, she didn't want to give the impression that she overheard what they said about her and so just slowly shut the door, put her bag down, got her notebooks and textbooks and sat down on her desk to do her homework.
Two hours later...
After an hour of trying to do her homework, Helga couldn't stand it anymore and shut her textbook closed, got up and exited her room. She quickly made her way downstairs.
Stupid Bob. Who does he think he is? She angrily thought. He doesn't know me; he's never even tried! So how dare he talk like this was an easy decision! He doesn't know a thing about me, or about what I go through!
Helga stomped her down the stairs and turned around and went straight into the living room.
"Bob." She called out to him with a firm tone when she stepped into the room.
"Hahahahahaha! Oh, where do they come up with this stuff?" Bob laughed as he was sitting on his couch and watching TV.
Helga immediately made her way across the room and went in between him and the TV.
"Bob, I need to talk to you." She said to him with her arms crossed.
However Bob, annoyed that she walked right in front of the TV, merely moved to the side to watch his program. Annoyed, Helga went to the TVand turned it off, only for Bob to use the remote and turn it right back on. Getting more annoyed, she then went behind the TV and unplugged it.
"Bob!" She frustratingly yelled at him.
Bob just let out an irritable sigh.
"What do you want, Olga?" He annoyingly asked her. "Can't you see I'm watching TV here?"
"I said I need to talk to you." She said to him again with an irritated look.
"About what?" He annoyingly asked her.
"About Rodrigo." She said to him.
"What about him? You broke up with him, so that's a done deal." He said to her, still annoyed. "What's there to talk?"
"Why did you call him your 'future son-in-law' back at the FTI building, before your fight with Von Scheck?" She bluntly asked him.
That got Bob's full attention and for a brief period, rendered him completely silent as he looked at her with wide eyes.
"Well I umm... I mean..." Bob nervously stuttered as he tried to come up with some sort of excuse. "I-I-I was just caught up in the moment, that's all." He finally said to her. "After climbing a full set of stairs, being out of breath and seeing the psychopath holding a gun at you and your friends, with the fear, anger and everything, I just said it out of the blue. It didn't really mean anything."
"Bob." She merely said to him with her arms crossed and giving him a stern look, clearly not buying any of that.
Seeing that she didn't believe him, Bob let out a sigh.
"Do you really want to hear my opinion about this?" He sincerely asked her with a raised eyebrow. "Or should I just pretend I didn't hear your question and walk away?"
"I want to hear what you have to say." She confidently said to him.
Bob merely rubbed the back of his neck before slowly getting up from his couch.
"Okay." He said to her. "Here's the scoop; I liked Rodolfo-"
"Rodrigo, Bob." Helga corrected him.
"Whatever." He said dismissively. "Anyway, he seemed to be a good kid with a strong head on his shoulders. And seeing how happy you were with him, well, it made me feel...secured about your future. He seemed to have pulled you out of the depressing crap you were in ever since Arnold left and I was happy for you, really. Given how things were going, I thought that you two were going to take things...long-term. Given all of that, I guess I was being a little premature when I called him my future son-in-law. I kind of caught up in the moment."
Helga was a bit surprised by Bob's sudden confession about his feelings for the Latino kid. She didn't really think he actually cared that much about what went on in her life, at least not enough for him to feel, for lack of a better word, moved.
"This doesn't mean I have anything against Arnold." Bob then continued. "How can I? He was always a good kid and I don't blame him for that field trip fiasco at Son Lorenzo and with Lasombra. Plus, he helped me in getting my business back up and running again."
"But," He then said with a stern voice and face, "he broke up with you and caused you to fall into depression and be all mopey for three years. So for me, as a parent, for Rodrigo to come along and help you get back up on your feet, well, I guess I was grateful for that."
"Which is why I at first thought you breaking up with him, just so you can be with someone who not only broke your heart in the first place, but lives thousands of miles away, when Rodrigo is right here, was a bunch of baloney! It didn't make any sense and I thought it was stupid of you to do that. You should have just forgotten about Alfred and move on."
Helga didn't say anything and just looked at Bob with a confusing look. He was talking in past tense, making it sound that he was having second thoughts about what he said to Miriam earlier that late afternoon.
"What do you mean 'at first'?" She asked him.
"Well, after thinking about it earlier today," Bob said as he rubbed the back of his neck again, "perhaps it all worked out for the best."
"How so?" She curiously asked him.
"Because, why would you, or anyone want to be with a wimp like Rodrigo?" He rhetorically asked. "No one! And I most certainly will not have allowed you to date someone like that."
"What?" Was all Helga just said with a bewildered look as she began to tense up at the amount of anger that was rising up inside her.
"A wimp." He said again, misinterpreting her look for being confused by what he meant. "You know, someone who is a coward, who has no back bone, or doesn't fight for the things that he-"
"I know what wimp means, Bob." She angrily retorted. "What I mean to say is why are you calling Rodrigo that, especially after you said that you liked him."
"Because what kind of a man just lets go of his woman go without fighting for her? I'll tell you; not a real one!" He just bluntly blared out his reason. "Despite what I said about him a moment ago, I realized that I overestimated the kid when he showed his true colours. Instead having any backbone and doing anything possible to try and work things out with you, he just admitted defeat like a wimp and broke up with you. He just threw away the towel, just like that. Not to mention that he broke your heart. That's not how a real man works and I would have been a little worried about at what kind of a guy you would have been dating."
"But, like I said, it all worked out for the best." He then casually said, like it was no big deal. "You're with Arnold now, so I don't need to worry about that."
And with that, he merely turned around and walked out of the living room, leaving an infuriated Helga alone.
Helga remained silent but was giving her father a deadly scowling face when he walked out of the living room. She had to use all of her strength to not yell at him for thinking so lowly about Rodrigo. Unlike the big oaf, she knew the real reason why Rodrigo broke up with her; for her, not his happiness! Besides, it's not like the poor guy had any choice. Helga clearly demonstrated to him that despite it being years and even with them dating each other, she was still not able to get over Arnold. From Rodrigo's perspective, it was demoralizing. To him, what real choice did he really have? He saw the writing on the wall, he knew the gig was up! As much as it pained Helga to admit it, Rodrigo had very little chance to truly replace Arnold. He could have done it, it was very possible, but it was a serious uphill battle that neither he or she could really guarantee anything. So instead of dragging her along and risk it all, he did the unthinkable; he let her go to allow her to finally embrace what she longed knew, but didn't want to admit it; she loved Arnold and she will always love him.
What Rodrigo did, few men would ever be able to do that. In her eyes, he did the right thing for her. Not for him, not for his pride, or his heart, but for her. It took a lot of guts to do that and Bob completely failed to see that. In her eyes, Rodrigo was more of a man than Bob will ever be.
But instead of saying something to him, Helga just let out a frustrated sigh. In the end, she did ask for Bob's opinion, so she can't blame him if she didn't like what he had to say. However, she also took in what Bob said earlier and began to wonder if she even made the right decision at all?
Was I wrong? She thought.
The next day...
As soon as the second period class was over, Helga quickly packed her belongings and headed straight out. She took out her phone from her pocket and began to text message Phoebe.
Helga: Pheebs, are you free right now?
Phoebe: Hi Helga. Yes, I am.
Helga: Can we meet up? I need to talk to you about something.
Phoebe: Sure. Where?
Helga: By my locker. Tell everyone that I don't want see them today. I need to only see you. Thx.
Phoebe: Sure.
Once Phoebe confirmed, Helga went straight to her locker to rendezvous with Phoebe. Once she got there, she put her books away, sat down and started eating her lunch as she waited for best friend. She didn't have to wait long. In no time, Phoebe walked towards her.
"Hi Helga. I'm here." She said to her as she sat down beside her.
"Thanks for meeting up with me, Pheebs." Helga said to her. "I really need to talk to you about this."
"What is it, Helga?" Phoebe just calmly asked her as she took out her lunch container and began to eath.
Helga took a deep breath before she began to explain her issue.
"Pheebs, do you think I may have...made a mistake?" She asked her. "About Rodrigo?"
"What do you mean?" Phoebe asked her with a bit of a worrying tone in her voice. "Are you having second thoughts?"
"Well, kind of, I guess." She confusingly said. "I mean, not really, but yes, I kind of am."
"I'm just not sure!" Helga continued, getting more confused and agitated about it. "I mean, I just don't think I pulled my own weight in the relationship."
"How so?" Phoebe asked.
"I don't think I tried hard enough to make it work this past summer." Helga clarified herself. "If anything, I did the exact opposite. I feel like I pushed, or forced Rodrigo into breaking up with me. I don't think I gave him any choice in the matter. He didn't do anything to get me to end things with him. I was the one who was doubting our relationship. I was the one who pushed him away during the summer, not even allowing him to talk or even touch me; as if he was the problem."
"Are you having second thoughts because you feel guilty?" Phoebe asked her.
"No, not because of guilt." Helga responded back. "Look Pheebs, I told you what Bob said about Rodrigo at the FTI building."
Phoebe remained silent and just nodded.
"I confronted him about it last night and asked him why did he call Rodrigo his son-in-law." Helga said.
"What did he say?" Phoebe asked.
Helga then wasted no time in telling Phoebe what Bob said to her last evening; about why he liked him (past tense), why he initially thought she made a mistake in breaking up with him and why he now thought she did the right thing, much to Phoebe's shock.
"Oh my!" Phoebe exclaimed in shock. "He said that about Rodrigo?"
"Much to my fury, yes." Helga grumbled. "I had to use any ounce of my strength not to throw one of Olga's big trophies at him."
"Anyways, what he said," Helga quickly got back on topic, "got me thinking and I just think that...I don't think I tried hard enough to stay with him. I ended things with him before they ever got off the ground."
"I see." Phoebe just said as she calmly took off her glasses and began to clean them
"Helga," She then calmly began to say to her as she put her glasses back on, "do you really want my opinion about this?" She asked her.
Helga stood quiet for a moment and just looked at Phoebe as she reiterated the same question Bob had asked her. Thinking about it hard this time, she took her time before she answered her.
"Yes." She then said to her. "I do want your opinion on this."
"Very well." Phoebe said in her usual analytical tone that kind of unnerved Helga a bit. She lightly cleared her throat and then began to speak.
"Helga, I think you did the right thing in moving on from Rodrigo." She bluntly said to her.
Helga said nothing and just looked at her with a surprised look on her face. Seeing this, Phoebe continued.
"I do want to make it clear though, that I have nothing against him." Phoebe then quickly added, "Despite our feud this past summer, we forgive each other and I've let go of all woes. I do not think ill of him and we are on good terms."
"Anyways," Phoebe then continued, "I initially supported the both of you dating because he made you happy. He not only treated you well, but understood where you were coming from and he respected that. Based on the positive changes that I was seeing from you, even though I didn't want to get ahead of myself, I really came to believe that your relationship with him would have lasted."
"Which is why it truly shocked me when I saw just how badly your resurfaced feelings for Arnold were affecting you." She then continued. "I'm not naive. I had expected your feelings to resurface should you ever see Arnold again in the future. I just hadn't expected it to be so soon, nor for your feelings for him to reach that high intensity."
"While we were trying to save the neighbourhood, I also started thinking about your feelings and your relationship with Rodrigo," The half Asian teen continued, "and I began to realize the folly of it all."
"Come again?" Helga asked with a tense and suspicious look.
"At the risk of being too blunt," Phoebe said, "I realized that perhaps it was not fair to either of you to continue dating if you still felt strongly for Arnold. While I admit that there could have been a chance for you both to make it work, I have to confess that after seeing how much Arnold still meant to you, it would have been an uphill battle. Even if you both succeeded, I doubt you would have been as happy with him than she would have been with Arnold."
Helga just continued to silently sit there, feeling more astonished at Phoebe's bluntness than her answer. But, Phoebe still had more to say.
"As for you believing that you didn't try hard enough, I happen to agree with you. You isolating yourself like that was counterproductive." She continued. "However, I also think that the way Rodrigo reacted toward you was counterproductive. Actually, I could even just say that I did not like the way Rodrigo treated you during the summer."
"I understanding that he felt hurt in seeing you not only push him away, but also how your feelings for Arnold, as much as you claim, didn't really dissipate." Phoebe continued with her analytical opinion. "But regardless, Rodrigo should have been more understanding to your situation, just like how he was before Arnold came to visit."
"That's a little harsh, Pheebs." Helga commented.
"It is." Phoebe agreed. "But I think it's also necessary. Instead of him reacting towards anger and avoiding you as retaliation, he should have tried to approach you."
"But what could he have done?" Helga rhetorically asked. "I wouldn't let him near me. I didn't even answer any of his calls. What did you expect him to do; barge into my house and my room just to talk to me? I only tried once to talk to him, but by that time, he was too angry and hurt to even look at me. After what I did to him, you and I cannot blame him not wanting to have anything to do with me."
"Maybe so," Phoebe said as she adjusted her glasses. "But as you said, you did try to reach out to him, and instead of taking that opportunity, he used it to hurt you by avoiding you. I'm not saying that what he did was immature. Rather, it just wasn't the right approach. To me, he lost a golden opportunity to try and salvage his relationship with you. But more so, that demonstrated to me that Rodrigo is no Arnold. He was right when he kept trying to convince us that he was not like him. Arnold never would have retaliated like that against you, nor would he have pushed you away when you tried to reach out to him, even if he had good reasons to. Arnold, as he always is, would have remained calm and tried to help you out in the best way that the could. Rodrigo didn't do that. He just made the situation worse."
"In conclusion," Phoebe then began to conclude, "I think Rodrigo did the right thing in breaking up with you because he realized that he wasn't the right person for you, and I happen to agree with him. I don't think you would have been miserable had you chosen to remain with him, nor do I think he would have influenced you in a negative way. Quite the contrary, I think he is very affectionate, loving and caring. At least that's how he was with you. He just wasn't the person that you need in your life. At the very least, he is second best."
Helga didn't say anything and just continued to look at Phoebe while absorbing everything that she just said. It was a lot take in, especially Phoebe's direct and blunt analysis of Rodrigo and she wasn't sure how she should react to that. Actually, if Helga didn't know any better, she thought that Phoebe took a low, verbal swing at him, prompting the blond pigtail teen to get defensive, but she remained still and silent.
"I'm apologize for my direct honesty, Helga." Phoebe then said. "But you did ask for my opinion and I gave it to you. I hope this wasn't too upsetting for you."
"It's not." She finally spoke. "Thanks for your honesty, Pheebs."
Helga then just sighed and leaned against the locker, straightening her back.
"I just miss him." She said remarked. "It's been hard not having him around to annoy me."
"Don't worry, Helga." Phoebe assured her. "I'm sure once Rodrigo is able to move on, he will want to resume his friendship with you."
"What makes you so sure?" She asked her.
"Because even though the dating didn't work out, he still cares about you." She answered her. "Like you, he doesn't want to simply throw away the friendship because of this. I know this because he wouldn't have organized the club party, that whole speech and your dance with Arnold if he didn't want to see you be happy."
"I hope so." She softly said. "How has he been doing anyways?"
"He's actually been doing a bit better." Phoebe replied. "He still has some ways to go, but I've noticed some slight improvements. He's slowly finding his way out."
"That's good to hear." Helga said, feeling hopeful.
"Very." Phoebe said. "Rhonda has been helping him a lot. She's been hanging out with him more, or taking him out to places after school, just to lift his spirits up. Last week, she took him to a massage session."
"Rhonda?" Helga said with a surprising look. "Princess is actually keeping her promise on helping Latino boy out? Huh, didn't think she would actually go through with it."
"Yes, she has." Phoebe replied. "And I think it's been helping him out. She has helping in keeping his mind occupied in other things."
Helga said nothing and just let out a frustrated groan, even banging the back of her head against the locker.
"What' wrong?" Phoebe asked her.
"Nothing, it's just that...it sucks that I can't be there for him, like how he was there for me." Helga sadly remarked.
"I'm sorry, Helga. I didn't mean to make you feel bad about it." Phoebe said.
"No, it's okay Pheebs." Helga assured her. "What matters is that Rodrigo is getting the help that he needs to get him back on his feet. I'm happy that everyone, including Rhondaloid, is helping him. Thanks for letting me know."
"You're welcome." Phoebe said back.
And with that, the two best friends then quietly continued to finish their lunch. Helga meanwhile was in deep thought about Rodrigo's progress. While happy with the news that Rodrigo is starting to make improvement, it pained her that she couldn't do anything to help him. Worse, she had to rely on people like Rhonda to help him in her stead. It was a blow to her pride, but in the end, she couldn't do anything about it.
What's more, she was bit curious about Rodrigo's and Rhonda's growing affiliation, if not maybe slightly suspicious. It wasn't anything foreign or strange seeing those two hang out, whether in school or outside. Even when they were dating, Rodrigo still continued to hang out with her, as he did with everyone else. Rhonda had never been Helga's favourite, so she never really cared about her or about her friendship with her then boyfriend. Actually, she found it strange how those two ended up forming any kind of bond. In many cases, they were the complete opposite. Nevertheless, however she felt about that or Rhonda, she was glad that the socialite was actually keeping her promise to help Rodrigo out.
I just hope we can be friends again one day. She thought.
Sorry for the short chapter, but I promise to make up for it in the next one.
