I do not own Hey Arnold in any way or form. But I am the proud owner of an Arnold popcorn bag.
HEY! Do you love Helga/Arnold fics? Then you should read my second story appearing on fanfiction.net, "A Fate Worse Then Destiny." A twisted plot about love, friendship, and dealing with the fact you killed your dream girl's family. Sounds interesting huh?
Anyways, enough with shameless plugs.
Warning: There is a part in here about an airport, not to give any spoilers. But I know a lot of the things I am going to say would not be allowed after the Sept 11 attacks, so I am just going to say that never happened in Arnold-verse. No disrespect toward anyone affected.
Arnold and Helga ran out the door to the parking lot of the motel. They stopped dead in their tracks. A single motorcycle track lay in the dust where Helga's bike was parked. It was stolen.
"Oh No!' Arnold said. That bike was their only form of transportation. Helga fell to her knees.
"NOOOOO! ANGEL!!!!" She cried. Arnold looked down at her questioningly.
"Angel?" Arnold asked.
"My bike, her name was Angel.' Helga sobbed. Arnold smacked his forehead. Helga was just was weird as Gerald when it came to their rides. He helped her up from her knees. "Do you know how many tries it took to get the perfect shade of pink?"
"I know Helga, it's okay." Arnold said comforting her, trying not to roll his eyes at Helga's obsession. She calmed down after a few minutes and came back to her senses.
"How are we going to get home now?" Helga asked. Arnold sat and thought for a minute. He knew they couldn't very well hitchhike, and to call a cab would cost a fortune. And buying a new ride was out of money range. Best thing he could think to do is to go back to their room and call the boarding house back and explain what happen. Then someone could come and get them the next day.
"We'll just call home and say what happen, then I am sure someone would drive down tomorrow and get us." Arnold said. Helga sighed, she really hated the idea of having to have a drive back with someone else. She really like all the alone time with Arnold, but she is not in the place to be picky.
"Okay." Helga muffled out and they walked back into the room. She laid down on the bed and buried her head in the pillows as Arnold picked up the phone and called back to the boarding house.
Grandpa picked up the phone at the boarding house, the police had just left and Miriam had came back into the house and was sitting alone in the corner of the room.
"Hello? Sunset Arms." Grandpa said. "Oh is that you Arnold? I thought you two were on your way back."
Miriam perked up from her seat a bit to help over hear the conversation.
"What? Stolen? Oh shortman, the really isn't good. Well now you just tell me where you are staying and I will be out there first thing in the morning." Phil said. Miriam could piece together that Helga's bike was stolen and they were going to stay there over night. This was not good.
"A wait, Phil!" Miriam said from the chair. She got up. "I could go pick them up now!"
"Huh? Well it'll be around 8 when you get back. And they have already been on the road all day." Grandpa Phil said. Miriam plastered on a fake smile.
"Oh but I have to see Helga as soon as possible. I mean with all that happen today, I could use a little family time." Miriam said and put a bit of a sympathetic look on her face that most when could not resist.
"Oh well, I see no harm in that." Grandpa said and went back on the phone. "Hey Arnold, change of plans. Miriam here says she'll drive down now. Oh look she is already running out the door." Miriam had made a sprint once Phil handed over the keys to his car.
"Really? That's nice of her, she really is a nice lady then I thought." Arnold said on the other end.
"Isn't she though?" Grandpa said with a smile as he watched the beat up old car pull out and speed down the street. He had no idea it could still go that fast.
Arnold hung up the phone after a little talking. Helga had figured out by listening in that her mom was picking them up in about 2 hours. She figured she ought to make the most of this time.
"Arnold I think I am going to go take a shower. Hanging out in weeds and dust got me feeling yucky." Helga said and walked into the bathroom. Arnold laid back on the bed and reached for the TV remote.
"Okay." Arnold said and pressed power. "I'll take one after you."
"Why don't we share one Helga said. She peered out the bathroom door and was standing there in a towel and only a towel. Arnold stumbled and fell face first in his hurry to get to the bathroom.
(Insert yet another Lemon scene here too. LOL. I am sorry I am a crappy lemon writer, I just can't keep a straight face writing something like "Arnold's rock hard….")
It was about 6 o'clock when Miriam pulled up to the hotel. Helga saw the headlights from the window and looked outside. She smiled, she had been having fun the last hour or two. But now she was dressed, she was wearing a pair of pink faded cute off shorts and a white lacey long sleeve blouse that hung off her shoulders. She slipped on her pink flip flops and went to the bathroom door and knocked. Arnold was in there doing his hair. He came out dressed in a light green base ball jersey and some black cargo shorts.
"Miriam's here." Helga said and pointed out the front. Arnold picked up their duffel bags as Helga got the door. As they walked out Helga say Miriam was trying to find a place to park, the lot was now full of cars from the guests staying at the motel. She waved her hands in the air and Miriam pulled up next to them.
"Hey Helga!" Miriam said. Helga and Arnold climbed into the back seat of the car.
"Hey Mom!" Helga said. She found it weird how she had switched to calling her mom from calling her Miriam, but she guessed she only did that when she was in a bad mood or something.
"Wow, it's so great to see you two okay!" Miriam said. They drove back on to the main road and started there way back. They all talked for awhile till Miriam said they should try to get a nap since everyone would jump on them the second they got through the front door. She smiled as she looked into the rearview to see the two teens passed out. Everything was going to plan.
Arnold slept in bliss as dreams floated through his head. The weirdest part about his dreams is he kept having visions of sunny beaches and the ocean crashing. Weird thing is he hadn't been to the beach in ages, a weird dream to be having. Helga 's dreams differed slightly, they were of empty hallway of her old high school in California and at the end of the hallway was Arnold.
Miriam silently pulled up to the front of the Sunset Arms boarding house. She reached into the back seat and shook Arnold slightly. He opened his eyes to see Miriam smiling at him from the front seat.
"Hey Arnold, rise and shine. Could you go in and tell everyone we are here. I'll wake Helga, she gets grumpy when first woken up." Miriam said with the peculiar smile on her face. Arnold half dazed from the long nap just nodded and exited the car. As soon as he reached the front door, he heard the car peel out behind him. He looked up quickly. The car was almost gone from sight.
"HELGA!" Arnold yelled and started to chase the car. He watched it soon disappear from his vision. It was too fast. Images from watching Helga leave on that bus that she first left for California flooded his head. He glared down the street. "She is my girlfriend, and I am not letting her go with out a fight! I came too far!"
"Arnold!" Gerald's voice called out from behind him. He turned to see Gerald and Phoebe running toward him. He turned and faced them.
"What happen?" Gerald asked.
"Miriam took off with Helga asleep in the backseat!" Arnold said in an angry voice. Gerald snapped his fingers.
"I knew something was up with that bitch!" Gerald said. He never been a fan of Helga, she was never the nicest person. But after years of Phoebe telling him about her sweet side and seeing how happy she made Arnold, he changed his opinions on her.
"We have to find a way to get her back." Arnold said. Gerald and Phoebe nodded yes. Suddenly the man hole cover near them slide open and Grandma crawled out in her army outfit. "Grandma!"
"We will return Schala to the pride land or my name isn't Maxine Pain!" Grandma said and Arnold smiled. She might come off crazy sometimes, but you could always count on Grandma when it came to backing you up.
Helga woke up by a gentle shaking. She saw Miriam's crying face in front of her. She blinked a few times and her vision sharpened.
"Oh Helga, I am sorry!" Miriam cried. "I didn't know he would leave you like this."
"WHAT!?' Helga sprang up. She looked around the back seat to see she was alone. Only her and her duffle bag.
"He said he got scared about what happened at the hotel and said maybe it was best if you did go back to California. I tried to wake you up so you could say goodbye, but he said it was better this way!" Miriam bellowed out. She had no idea what happen at the hotel, but she took a gamble that something had.
"What? Why? Arnold?" Helga said. She was confused. Arnold would really do that?
"Helga I am sorry, I guess he got carried away in the moment with the whole running away thing. He wouldn't even give you a goodbye kiss." Miriam sobbed out through her fake tears. She might have acted dumb all those years, but now that she didn't have to drink her "smoothies" to deal with Bob, she was pretty shifty. She thought back about names she heard Helga say she hated. " He said something about a girl Lila. Do you know her?"
"THAT BASTARD!" Helga yelled out. The name Lila threw her into a blind rage. She should have known no one could have really loved her. She was just being used. She didn't even shed a tear. She just grabbed her duffel bag and jumped out the back door. She was getting the hell away from here.
Arnold sat in the front seat of Gerald's SUV as they speed through the streets. They had gotten lost since Gerald didn't have a current map of the city, saying he knew the whole city like the back of his hand. Well apparently his hand wasn't big enough to fit in the airport. But after Phoebe used her laptop she was able to get them back on track. But they had lost time on Miriam, and considering Miriam drives like a maniac, they were already far behind.
"You don't think Helga would get on that plane willingly?" Arnold said. Phoebe looked down forlornly.
"Considering Helga's mom had this all planned out so well, I wouldn't be surprised if she plans to trick Helga onto that plane." Phoebe said and wiped a tear away. She couldn't deal with the fact Helga was leaving again.
"Man if I catch Miriam in the way of my SUV, I am going to run her down." Gerald said. He was extremely pissed. "How could you send your child off like that. She ain't got no respect for Helga."
"All we can hope for is that we get there in time. I wish I knew what flight she is on." Arnold said as they pulled onto the off ramp for the Airport.
Helga watched as the started the first call at gate 23 for San Francisco, California. She picked up her duffel bag and sighed. She really thought Arnold loved her. Maybe he did and he didn't know what he was doing. In any case, it would be best for her just to go back to California, like Miriam explained.
"Okay Helga, you be good for Olga and I'll come visit as soon as I get back on my feet." Miriam said. She gave Helga a hug. Helga seemed somewhat limp.
"Yeah, will do." She replied. She look at the plane for a second and then saw a picture of Arnold in her mind. She groaned. She put her bag down for a minute and reached for the end of her braid. She untied her famous pink ribbon. "Hey Miriam, could you give this to Arnold for me?"
"Sure thing, yeah uh huh. Now go now or you'll miss your plane." Miriam said and she pocketed the ribbon and gave Helga a small push toward the boarding line.
Arnold, Gerald, and Phoebe just made it through the metal detectors when the sound system for the airport come on.
"FINAL BOARDING FOR FLIGHT 654 TO SAN FRANCISCO AT GATE 23."
"Shit!" Gerald said as he looked up to see they were at gate 1. They started to run through the airport. All Arnold could do is watch the gate numbers and keep a picture of Helga in his head. He surged ahead of Gerald and Phoebe. 20, 21, 22, 23!
As the plane detached the from the small expandable hallway connecting it to the gate. Miriam could hear a very loud boy behind her.
"NO HELGA!" Arnold screamed and ran up to the viewing window. The plane turned to taxi to the run way. Arnold searched the windows of the plane frantically, looking for a tuff of blond hair somewhere. He squinted to see a familiar face looking back at him.
Helga looked miserably at Arnold from her window. She knew he was there to do the right thing and say something like "I am sorry it happened, but it has to be this way. Goodbye Helga." Poor good hearted Arnold didn't make it in time she thought. The plane turned and she lost view of him.
Arnold screamed and pounded the glass. Gerald and Phoebe went to calm him down before security had him removed. Miriam sighed and put the pink ribbon down on a seat behind Arnold about ten feet and then walked off unnoticed. In her mind it was painful, but she had did the right thing.
"Come On Arnold, let's go sit down.' Phoebe said and help guide in the a seat. Before he sat down he saw a pink ribbon laying on it. He picked it up. It was definitely Helga's, he could smell the scent of her shampoo coming off it. He sat down and clutched it.
"It's okay Arnold. I mean, I am sure you will see her again one day." Gerald said. Arnold looked up from the ribbon.
"I know Gerald, I promise I will see her again." Arnold said.
The end………………………..just kidding
THE FINAL CHAPTER, 12, WILL COME SOON! SEE WHERE THE DAMN TITLE FINALLY COMES INTO PLAY! WILL ARNOLD SEE HELGA EVER AGAIN!?