Okay, people, here it goes... the second chapter of Understanding Helga!
And, uh guy's... I'm not sure, but this may not be the last chapter. Let's wait and see...
:::Says a little prayer::: I hope this is good...
:::Chanting::: Please don't hate it, Please don't Hate it...
And AWAY we go! ^_^...

Disclaimer- I don't own Hey Anrold, but personally, I wanna Adopt Helga! I think she need's a hug!
Oh... and the poem in this chapter? It's MINE!!! Hehehe...

~*~Understanding Helga~*~
Chapter Two- And Just what do you Know about Me, Arnold?

Okay, come on Helga, steady girl. Just don't think about it. Don't think about the fact that this very second
you're putting on clothes that he's worn...that have touched his skin. As I finish buttoning up the shirt, I feel
myself getting dizzy from extacy. I look down at the jean's Arnold gave me. I had expected them to be highwater's
on me, but they actually fitted just right. I'm guessing they're huge on him. I take out my pigtail's, untie my bow and
shake out my hair. Grabbing a piece of it, I see the end's are starting to curl. I give a frustrated sigh and comb
my fingers through my mop of unruly blonde waves. I don't quite understand where I got the wave's from.
Mirium and Olga both had nice, flat hair, why couldn't I just follow suit? Out of habit alone, I reached
into the shirt for my locket, and felt nothing but the soft material. I cover my mouth in surprise and, getting down
on my knee's, pulled my dress up from the floor and dug through the pocket I had sewn on the inside. Ha! There
it is! I extract my most precious possesion and look at it for a moment. For some reason, I don't really feel
like spouting off poetry to it. After all, I have the real thing downstairs! And that's when it really hits me.
I'm going to be spending the night here.
I fall backwards from my kneeling position and land on the floor with a quiet *thud*. I was actually staying the
night. I can't help but wonder what great Saintly deed I did to deserve this. Did I save a person's life while
I wasn't looking? I went through what had happened today, to see if I had done anything worthy of this kind
of reward. School, the bus, Bob slamming the door, almost killing Pink-Boy, The Park, the Helena thing...
Oh no.
What have I done? This is bad. I had been different ever since Arnold wrapped his coat around me
at the park. I had been calm, I had been relaxed, I had been shy, I'd been...
Me.
But, no! He can't see that! No one can! I can't let him hurt me anymore then he already does. He'd hate it, He'd...
I thought back to a few minute's ago. I'd made him laugh. He'd smiled at me. Would he really hate me anymore
then he does now? In truth, I had liked playing along with his Grandma. At least she was willing to play. My
parents had never played with me. The only game they ever took pleasure in was 'Shine Olga's Trophies'. Maybe
I could at least try to be real...just for tonight...just as a break. I'm so tried of bending over backward's to hide
who I truly am. I'm entiltitled to a night off after six years, right? Besides, if Arnold got in too deep, I could always
snap back to how I usually am. Somtimes, it's useful to have total control over your emotions...
Wait... total control? Humph, that's a joke. Okay, at least partial control.
So, what to do... Should I act the way I've always dreamed of acting towards my beloved, or do I simply take
the stage and do as I'm expected?
Suddenly, I here a dinner bell and Arnold's Grandma shouting "SOUP'S ON!!!" Crimany, I always space out at
the worst times. Shoving my locket, pink ribbon and hair ties in the front jean pocket, I gather up the sopping
wet mass of pink and white material and head downstairs. The hall looks quiet and desserted. Everyone must
be downstairs already. I walk down the second set of stairs and turn into the kitchen. People are rushing to find
thier seats and I look at the table. I had never seen so much food in all my life! There was a huge turkey, and it
wasn't even Thanksgiving! There was rice and potatoes and every vegtable I knew of, and a few I didn't. This
was nothing compared to my house, where the menu was near-raw bleeding steaks, undercooked potatoes and
tastless soups. And that's when you got a dinner out of Mirium!
"Why, hello Helena!" said the Grandma walking up to me. I smiled and bowed my head like any good 'Athenian
Noble', "Hello," I answered. She took the bundle of clothes from me and started down the hall,
"Now, you go find a seat with Kimba. This dress'll be clean'n' dry in no time." I grinned. Why does she call Arnold
'Kimba'? It's actually kind of cute. Arnold, my true love, also known as Kimba, the great jungle warrior.
"Helga?" I heard a slightly stunned Arnold say from behind me. I turned around to face him. He looks just like he
always does, adorable. But why is he looking at me like that? Do I look that bad?
"What?" I say, letting annoyence creep into my voice.
"I--I've just never seen you with your hair down." I almost laughed. If he knew what a lie that was!
"Yeah, well don't get too emotional, Footballhead..." I begin. But I smile, remembering his Grandma,
"Or...should I call you 'Kimba'?" I ask jokingly
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
My eyes nearly pop. No matter how much I try and force it down, I'm smiling so much that it hurts,
"Should you what?!" I ask amusedly, she grins and shrugs,
"Thought you might wanna break from 'Footballhead', Arnoldo." I shake my head,
"Whatever you say Helga," I hear myself saying "Whatever you say."
"You'd better bielieve it." she retorts. I motion for her to follow me and I manage to clear a path from the many people
scurrying for seats to find us two of our own near the head of the table. As she was about to sit down, I took
another look at her. My shirt and jeans are actully baggy on her, and she didn't do up the buttons on the cuffs of
the shirt. Her bow and pigtail's were gone and her hair, which was air-drying, actully looked... kind of nice, all loose
and sort of hanging down in a complex sea of waves. I don't know wheather she realize's it or not, but she keep's on
pushing this lock of hair from out of her eye, behind her ear. From out of her eye...why is that familiar?
"Hey, you gonna sit down, Arnold?" Helga's voice inturupts my thoughts. I sit down beside her quickly, and
Oskar takes the seat next to her, looking at her with slight dissapointment,
"Oh no! Grandpa, there is another mouth to feed! I will starve to death with these people eating all the food!"
"Oskar!" cried Suzy, horrified. I felt my mouth sink into a frown,
"Mr. Kokoshka!" I said in a warning tone. Helga just watched on with a fascinated look.
"Aw, keep your trap shut, ya' Bum." yells Grampa to him, taking his seat at the head of the table, "And don't
call me 'Grandpa'!" Mr. Potts took the seat across from Helga and glared at Oskar,
"Oskar, ya' Rat, leave the girl alone. It's not her fault you're a good-for-nothing who eats too much!" Ernie thrust
his hand across the table at Helga and smiles, " Ernie Potts, demolishsion man extraordinare." Helga met his hand
halfway and shook it, "Helga Pataki." she says simply. Suzy nods to her and smiles,
"I'm Suzy, and this is Oskar." she says, motioning to Mr. Kokoshka, who's about ready to pounce on the Turkey,
"I am, Mr. Hyunh." says Mr. Hyunh in his usual thick accent, taking a seat next to Ernie. Grandma come's into the room,
"And I'm Lizzie Bennet!" she annouces happily. Grampa rolled his eyes,
"SURE you are, Pookie... Now, enough with this introduction stuff and let's eat!" and with that, the fiasco began.
The boarder's attacked the turkey and the other dishes like starving Lion's, and I was lucky to come out of the
mess with my hand. When I looked at Helga, though, I saw that she already had a little of everything on her plate.
How did she do that?! I've been trying to master that skill forever! But I notice she doesn't eat very much. During
dinner, the conversation was the best it had ever been. No one fought, they were to busy talking to Helga. She
was still playing along with Grandma, (when she wasn't looking, Helga whispered to me, "Lizzie Bennet's from
the book 'Pride and Prejudice'.") and asked her about her sister's Kitty, Jane, Mary and Lydia. Mr. Hyunh
was flattered when Helga said that she'd liked his song 'The Simple Thing's', and sung a sample of a new song
he was working on, 'The Free Life'. Mr. Potts took to her better then I've seen him take to anything, and was
overjoyed to tell her the story of every building he'd ever demolished. Grandpa once asked what it was like being
the daughter of the Beeper King, but Helga only said, "Bob doesn't usually mix his family with his work...unless
it'll sell more beepers." I watch her as she's listening to Suzy talk about when she was a kid. I've never seen this
Helga before. She smiles and laughs at what Suzy just said. Her teeth are really white. It's like she has this mask
that she wears. A mask of the mean, angry Helga I see everyday. A mask that she can take off at will, and show
her to be...well, different. At the moment, Oskar makes a quick grab for the last drumstick that Ernie is reaching for,
and quickly snaches it from his grasp. Ernie begin's to fume,
"Kokoshka, ya' low life! I was going for that!" Oskar set the drumstick on his plate,
"Oh, but Ernie, I am so hungry. With the little girl here, I didn't get enough to eat. Heheheh..."
"Oskar, just give him the Turkey." Suzy sighed in exasperation.
"But Suzy, I--"
"Here you go, Mr. Potts." said Helga. We all looked to her. She was holding out the drumstick, which she had
somehow managed to steal from Oskar's plate when he wasn't looking, to Ernie. He grabbed the leg and
hooted with laughter, Helga looked at Oskar smugly,
"By the way, Bucko, the name's Helga." she corrected. Ernie tore into the leg,
"Hey Helga, how'd you do that?" he asked with his mouth full, "I didn't even see you move!" Helga grinned,
"Practice." she said shortly, and left it at that. After every morsel of food was eaten and the boarder's had
retreated back to thier rooms, I lead Helga back upstair's, but my curiosity still got to me,
"Hey Helga?" I said as we went up the attic stairs,
"Yeah?"
"How did you get that drumstick off of Oskar's plate? He gaurds his food with his life."
"I TOLD you, Footballhead, practice."
"What kind of practice?" I asked while holding the door to my room open for her. She rolled her eyes upward and
shook her head, "Why? You want lessons?" she asked me sarcasticly. But it wasn't the hateful, I'm-better-then-you
sarcasim she usually used. It was just a friendly joke. I closed the door and laughed,
"I could use them, I barely get a chance to eat." I say, Helga falls on the couch and looks up at the sky,
"You should try over at my house. Somtimes they forget to make me anything, so I have to steal off Bob's plate."
I tilt my head and start walking to her. They what?
"They forget to make you food?" Helga's eyes bulge and she looks around the room, distraught,
"Um, well, you know...it's just somtimes...uh...It doesn't matter, I don't care." she says, trying to sound cold and distant.
I don't buy it anymore, though. I sit down next to her, and she inches away. Why is she always afraid when
I get close to her? Come to think of it, why is she afraid when anyone tries to get close?
"How often do they forget?" I whispered. She looked down at her hands, like she'd written an answer on them,
"I--they--" she let out a frustrated sigh, "I can take care of myself." she says finally. I shake my head,
"Helga, that doesn't matter. Parents are supposed to be there to take care of you, even if you don't need it."
she looks at me saddly, "Maybe in your world, Arnoldo. But not all people are like that." I look at her oddly.
That can't be right, all parent love thier children, don't they? Helga give's me a pitying look and sighs,
"You don't get it, do you Arnold? Some people just don't care, and you can't make them. Sure, they'll pretend to
care for a while, but they switch back to who they truly are soon enough. My parent's are those kind of people.
Maybe a long time ago it used to bother me, but I'm used to it now." She flung herself off the couch and headed for
my computer chair. I got up and ran my fingers through my hair in exasperation. Why is she being like this?!
"Helga, I know you and--" she suddenly turned around and glared at me, laughing at the same time,
"You know me, huh?" she questioned, "And just what do you know about me, Arnold?" she crossed her
arms and waited. I racked my brain. Helga, the bully. Helga, the one who throw's spitballs at me. Helga,
the one who had been mean to me since the age of three... and that's when reality sunk in.
I've known Helga for six years--SIX YEARS-- and still know virtually nothing about her. This is one of
the few time's I've ever seen her acting like a real person. A person with true feelings. She scoffs almost silently,
"All you see is the Pigtail's and the Pink Dress." she tells me, "All you see is a Pataki. And maybe that's good.
Maybe it's best that you never see who I am. But I'm so much more then what you think." she turns away from
me and sits on the chair. I stay where I am, frozen to the spot in shock at the passion in her voice.
"So show me." I finally say. she truns the chair until she's facing me again,
"What?"
"You say you're so much more...show me." she tries to gesture a response with her hand's,
"Arnold...I--you don't get--" she lets out a sharp breath, "It's not that easy."
"Why not?"
"Because it..." she stops there, and looks up at me from across the room. She's looks thoughtful for a moment,
then a slow, secretive smile creeps across her face,
"Where do you keep the paper and pens?" she asks. Huh? That was the last thing I expected,
"Uh...second desk drawer on the left." she nods and opens the drawer, taking out a piece of paper and a pen.
She turns back to my desk and begins writing furiously, and I leaned to one side so I could watch her. She
looked peaceful, calm, but so alive. Like something in her woke up just to help her write whatever she was writing.
Her eye's looked almost wild as she scribbled on the blank sheet at a speed that amazed me. As if something
in her took control of her and was doing the writing for her. When she was finished, she looked at the paper,
reading it over, and shook her head, disapointedly. I was sad to see the fire gone from her,
"Why are they so depressing?" she asks herself, and looked back up at me. She got up and walked back over
to me softly, paper still in hand. When she reached me, she gingerly handed me the sheet. Like it was a fragile
thing that would break any moment. She kept her gaze on me as I read what I now knew to be a poem that said:

I live in the world of a thousand setting Suns,
I weep by a fountain of blood and tears.
I listen to the whisper of the most haunted sound,
A silence that bubbles over my lips.
I sleep in the world of the consious,
I breath in the world of shattered dreams.
My tears are my soul, pushed back for so long,
let it out, let it out.
And the truth will kill me someday,
for I am still in love.
A love that consumes me on the inside,
and cuts me deeply--bleeds me dry-- from within.

After I finish, I look up at her, and we lock eyes. Her eyes are usually clouded with contempt and mocking. But now,
they're so open, so warm that it's almost overpowering. And I never knew anything could be that blue...
"Helga..." I begin. I don't know what to say. How can I not know what to say? She give's me a wan smile,
"There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Arnold," she says,
"Thing's I'm not sure you'd want to find out."

~End of chapter two~
Okay, I'm an inconsistant. Ya know how I SAID I'd only post one more chapter? Well...no. Yes people, there
will be more chapters... how many more? Your guess is as good as mine! I'm amazed by all the people who
took the time to Review this.... THANK YOU SO MUCH! But how was this chapter? A little slow? I dunno...
R&R! I'll post REALLY SOON, Promise! Wishin' u
Luv
Life
Luck
n' Lafta'
~*~C.D.~*~