You Never Know...
Chapter 8
by Serena
~ It's finally complete! Apologies to everyone who complained about the long wait. I didn't want to post it until fanfic.net had corrected the bugs in the reviews.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hey Arnold. What I do own, however, is the plot, which is a product of my overactive imagination.
Arnold
walked into his room and plopped down on the bed. He had just come from playing baseball.
However, he had difficulty concentrating on the game and decided to leave promptly after
the baseball bonked him on the head.
Arnold grabbed the remote and turned on the TV.
An old black and white movie was on, and there was a couple arguing
"Babydoll, please don't go! I
can't live without ya!" pleaded the man.
"I'm sorry, Donnie! I'm
gettin' on the next ship outta here! You're neva gonna see me around here ever
again!" yelled the woman. She walked out and slammed the door.
Arnold groaned and turned off the TV. Maybe he
would find some relief on the radio. He turned on his stereo system and heard an old Dino
Spumoni song. He smiled as he remembered the school dance. He had seen Helga dancing to
this song, and remembered thinking, "Helga really isn't all that bad."
Arnold suddenly turned
off the stereo. That's enough of that song.
He buried his face in
his pillow and groaned. I can't stop thinking about herBut why am I even
stressing this? I tried my best to convince her to stay, but she's just stubborn.
And yet another part of him
echoed, I should have said goodbye.
He heard his door creak
open. "Hey short man. What's cookin'? Besides your grandmother's
teriyaki"
They heard a
"Hiii-yahh!" and then a crash coming from downstairs.
Arnold faced his
grandfather. "Nothing much, Grandpa. I'm kinda having a bad day."
"Ah, I see,
another boyhood dilemma. What's the problem?" said Grandpa as he sat down next
to Arnold.
"Well,
there's this girl, Helga. You know, the one who's always picking on me?"
"Right, the girl
with the pink bow and one eyebrow that likes you."
Arnold sighed.
"She doesn't like me GrandpaAnyway, you know how she saved me from that
truck? Well, ever since she got back from the hospital, she keeps thinking no one cares
about her. She's transferring to another school and she leaves tonight."
"And you
don't want that?"
"Wellno, I
guess not. I mean, even if she does pick on me sometimes, there are moments when
she's really nice. Like when Lila dumped me and she cheered me upor during the
school play, or at Rhonda's costume party, or when she took us to that fancy French
restaurant," Arnold chuckled, "But she had the wrong restaurant so we wound up
washing dishes, and then when--"
"It sounds like
you two have a lot of memories," Grandpa cut in.
"Yeah,"
Arnold smiled. "We do."
After tonight, I
might never see her again.
Arnold stood up, suddenly
knowing what he had to do. "Grandpa? Do you think you could drive me somewhere?"
His grandfather smiled
at him knowingly. "Sure thing, short man. I'll wait for you downstairs."
Grandpa walked out of the room and mumbled to himself, "The boy's head over
heels and doesn't even know it"
As soon as Grandpa
left, Arnold grabbed the phone and quickly dialed Phoebe's number. Please let her
be home
Helga shifted
uncomfortably in one of the rough, flat chairs in the terminal. She was eager to get on
the plane and leave already, but it was still a little early. She looked at her
surroundings and sighed. The airport was bustling with activity, but all the people who
were also waiting seemed incredibly boring, and there were no kids her age.
Kids, Helga
thought. And then she experienced an emotion she hadn't felt very often in her life.
Fear.
Suddenly the
realization hit her and a knot formed in her stomach. She was traveling to an area
she'd never been to before, going to a school she'd never seen before with kids
she'd never met before. What if nobody liked her, and she became more miserable than
if she had continued going to P.S. 118?
Helga never really
worried about what other people thought of her, because Arnold was the only person whose
opinion ever mattered. Her entire universe revolved around him. It was why she had saved
him from that truck. Because if he had died, she would have died too.
But then again,
isn't that the exact reason why I'm doing this?, Helga thought. Her real
fear was living without Arnold. And when the accident happened, it was like a wake-up call
that she needed to conquer that fear. Besides, she would have to leave him sooner or
later. What would she do when they graduated? Follow him to whatever high school he went?
Helga stood up and took control of her fears. If she was alone in this new school, so be
it. She would learn to make friends and make a life for herself – one without Arnold.
Feeling a little
better, Helga walked over to the windows to watch the airplanes take off. As the sun was
beginning to set, she remembered something. For maybe the third time since she was three,
Helga took off her pink bow and let her soft blond hair fall to her shoulders. I
won't need this anymore
Arnold and Grandpa hurried
into the busy terminal. Once inside, Arnold spotted the escalators and dragged Grandpa
through the crowds toward them.
When they had darted to
the top, Grandpa panted exaggeratingly. "You go on, shortman. I'm old and feeble
and can't keep up. I'll just wait for you here in this little café and have
some raspberry pieyeah, that's the ticket!"
Arnold raised an
eyebrow. "But Grandpa--"
"I know, I know,
don't eat raspberriesWell maybe I'll have just one"
Arnold smiled and shook
his head. "Okay Grandpa, I'll be right back!" and with that, he darted off.
He ran past the gates, saying an occasional "Excuse me", all the while looking
frantically for Helga. In the corner of his mind, he wondered why he was getting so
panicky. After all, he only decided to come here because it was the right thing to do
– he couldn't let her leave if they were still on bad terms. He would say hello
to her, thank her again for saving his life, apologize for all the fighting, and wish her
luck. Simple.
He skidded to a stop,
his heart pounding wildly. This was the gate Phoebe told him she'd be at. He glanced
around for her. Where was she? Did she board the plane already? "I should have
checked the flight schedule on the way here," Arnold scolded himself.
Then, a family moved
aside and he was able to see a girl with her back to him, looking out the window. She was
cast in sunlight, making her long hair a brilliant shade of gold. Without thinking, he
walked closer. Then he noticed the pink dress. Was that Helga? He saw the girl's
reflection in the glass and his suspicions were confirmed.
He remained silent,
just studying her. Besides her hair being down, something else was missingand
something was different about her. He could feel it.
Then, the eyes in the
reflection met his. She gave an audible gasp, and quickly averted her gaze.
Arnold took a deep
breath and stepped forward. "Hi."
No response.
"Beautiful sunset,
isn't it?"
Still no response.
"What time does
your flight--"
"What are you
doing here, football head?" she asked and looked at him with piercing blue eyes.
Arnold squirmed under
her gaze. Why am I here? His mind had gone completely blank. "I
uhum, I'm here because uh" Real smooth, Arnold. So much for this
being simple.
Helga was watching him
carefully, and he saw the emotion in her eyes flicker to something he couldn't put
his finger on, then turn to confusion.
"I came here, to
uh, thank you. Thanks for saving my life. You know, from the truck and all that."
"You already
thanked me."
"Right. Well, uh,
the truth isI came to make peace."
Helga became pale.
"Make peace for what? We're not fighting."
"You said goodbye
to everyone except me," he said softly and put his hands in his pockets.
She turned her back to
him. She was standing that way because she didn't want him to see the tears that were
sliding silently down her cheeks.
Arnold wondered why she
wouldn't respond. Had he gotten her mad? He could just imagine Helga turning around
any second now, fist tightened, ready to punch his lights out.
And yet, something told
him that wasn't the case. "Helga?" He put his hand on her shoulder and
gently turned her around.
Helga rapidly wiped
away her tears and leaned down so that her hair would partially cover her face, but her
eyes were still watery and her cheeks were still wet.
Never, in a million
years, had Arnold expected to see this. Helga Pataki...crying? That was likeCurly
being sane or Harold eating something low fat. For a second he just gaped in wonder but
then he snapped back to reality and realized something was seriously wrong with Helga.
"Helga," he
said kindly, "What's wrong?"
But she just shook her
head. Helga headed over to a chair and sat down. Then she buried her face in her hands, as
if making one last desperate attempt to protect her reputation.
Arnold walked over and
sat in the chair next to her. His heart was breaking, seeing her like this, so he had to
try and comfort her. "Helga, you don't have to tell me anything right now,
it's okay." He searched his mind quickly for something to say, maybe to distract
her from whatever was making her upset. "You know, I was thinking about all the
memories we've shared today. And even if you don't feel the same wayI just
want to tell you thatI consider you one of my best friends. I guess what I'm
trying to say is, I'm here for you. No matter where you are."
Helga sniffed and
turned away from him.
Arnold frowned,
disappointed. It was no use. She'd been completely unreachable since he'd
arrived, and it was obvious he was unwelcome. He decided he'd said what he needed to
say, and it was time to leave.
"I guess I'll
go now. Have a good flight," he said blandly as he started to get up.
"Wait." Helga
said. She suddenly hugged him. "I'm sorry, Arnold. For being mean to you all
those years, for everything" she whispered.
Arnold, although quite
surprised at this, quickly recovered and hugged her back. "It's okay Helga, I
forgive you."
They separated, and
then an announcement was made over the P.A. People began to board the flight.
"That's my
cue," Helga said. She stood up and grabbed her things.
Arnold stood up as
well. "Helga, you don't have to--"
She cut him off,
"Yes I do, Arnoldo. This is something I have to do. II can't tell you
why."
He frowned. "But
why not?"
"I just
can't, that's all! Okay?!"
"Okay, I
guess..." Arnold shook his head slightly, confused by the different side of Helga he
was seeing today. "Will I ever see you again?"
She looked as though
she were in deep thought. "Oh, probably."
"Oh," he
said, suddenly having a strange sense of déjà vu.
They looked at the
ground awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Finally, Helga spoke up.
"Look, I'm
not that great with goodbyes, so let's just pretend I'm gonna see you at school
on Monday, okay?"
"Okay."
"I'll see
ya' around, Arnold."
"See you soon,
Helga."
And she was gone.
Back in his room,
Arnold sat on his bed once again, staring at the ceiling. His grandfather's voice
echoed in his mind. "If it's one thing I've learned, it's that you
never know what you have until you've lost it, short man," he had said in the
car on the way home from the airport. It had taken him a while to realize Grandpa was
referring to Helga.
He looked at the brown
book in his lap. However plain it was on the outside, inside it was filled with pages of
beautiful poetry. He had found it on the floor in the airport after she had left. As he
opened it up to the first page, he thought to himself with a wistful smile, No kidding,
Grandpa.
THE END
Thank you to everybody who read and reviewed my story. Being that this was my first fanfic, I didn't expect to get so much support, so thanks a bunch! I hope everybody liked the last chapter. I think a lot of people were expecting Helga to stay or confess her secret, but that's what sequels are for. :-) You won't see it up for a while, as I'm taking a little break from writing, but keep an eye out for the sequel to You Never Know, in which Helga comes back home after several years.
~ Serena