Mid sixth month, and in the seventh too.
Helga starts to show.
Whoa.
She tries to hide it during school,
The last thing she was doing…
Was making the guys drool.
Her feet got big, and her hands did too.
The kids looked at her as if she belonged in the zoo.
But enough with this,
Her heart is also broken
To see Lila and Arnold's
First kiss.
"Mmm," mumbled Helga. "Look at that cake. It looks so good!" She gazed at a big chocolate cake on display at the bakery.
"Yeah, it does look good," replied Arnold.
"Do you think we can buy it? I'm getting awfully hungry." Her hands were on the glass, as her eyes were still pinned on it.
"The whole thing?" Arnold questioned. "Are you sure we'll be able to eat all that?"
"Who ever said 'we'? I can…surely…"
Arnold chuckled slightly. "Ever since you started to show more…you've gotten very hungry."
"Face it, Arnoldo. I need food."
Arnold looked at the cake and the price tag next to it. "Damn, Helga, it's twenty-five bucks. I'm not spending that much on one cake. We already spend that much just for your meals."
Helga sighed. "I guess…"
"That sort of money pays for a wedding cake. Not an every day pregnancy cake."
He pulled her away from the window display.
"Speaking of weddings…"
"What about weddings?" asked Arnold as they walked in the cool spring air.
"What do you think about weddings?"
"I think you should only get married when you're in love."
"Yeah…."
"You're not thinking of…"
"Uh, no. No," said Helga promptly. She sighed slightly. "So, uh, how are you and Lila doing?"
"Fine…just fine."
"Does she know about the two of us?"
"Not completely."
"Not completely? What's that supposed to mean?"
"I just told her that you're living with me because your parents kicked me out. That's all."
Helga rolled her eyes and shoved Arnold. "Idiot."
"What was I supposed to say? I really like her, and I don't want her to run off."
Helga nodded blankly. "Would you call yourselves a couple now?"
"Well, we're just going out. I mean, even after going out for a couple of months, I say just going out."
Helga nodded again. "I see."
"C'mon, cheer up Helga. I'll buy you a snack before we get home." He put his arm around her.
Helga forced herself to smile. "Like pickles and peanut butter?" She asked anxiously.
Arnold made a sick face. "Yes…Just for you."
"Fantastic! Maybe even with some sardines?"
"Eew."
***
Helga stumbled out of her bed. Everything seemed so blurry. Probably because her eyes were half asleep and it was the middle of the night. Her head was hurting like crazy and she didn't know why. She walked into her bathroom and opened the cabinet door.
Inside, you see…
Bottles of advil,
Tylenol,
And such…
SO many of them. Instantly, she just grabbed one and poured some in her hand. She poured herself a cup of water and put the pills in her mouth, as she gulped it down with the water.
Was she even supposed to be doing this?
Oh she didn't care.
All she wanted to do was get over with these nine months and go back to normal.
But would she ever be normal again?
Then her head began to spin again. Soon everyone would figure out she was pregnant. It would be soo easy to tell. No one fat would look the way you look if you were pregnant. What would she do? Go crazy, perhaps.
"My, my, Helga," began Rhonda. "You are getting quite big, aren't you?" She was talking to her in the halls during lunch.
Helga ignored her comment.
"I mean, really, have you been eating a bit too much of those Gummi Bears lately?" She scoffed and put her hand on her hip, raising her eyebrow.
"Gee Rhonda, I thought you'd never notice."
"You used to be so thin…so nice looking. And look at you now. In a matter of a month, you get huge!" She laughed. "It's as if you were pregnant or something…"
Helga's eyes widened.
"Oh my fuckin' Goddess…" Rhonda murmered, seeing the expression on Helga's face. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"
"What are you talking about?" Helga lied.
"This explains everything!" She squealed. "Who's the father?"
"No one."
"There has to be a father!! Is it George? Mark?"
"No. No."
"Park?? Michael?? Am I getting closer?"
"NO! Now leave. Go fly off and spread happiness to some other unfortunate person." Helga tried shooing her off.
"It's Arnold isn't it?" She said as-a-matter-of-factly.
Helga couldn't help it, but her cheeks turned a bright pink.
"Oh my God! This is too good to be true!" Suddenly she gasped. "But isn't Arnold with Lila?"
"Not technically…just 'going out'," stated Helga. She only said that because Arnold had told her that.
Rhonda grinned. "This is so sweet…I have to tell someone."
"Wait, Rhonda!" Helga gasped.
But it was too late. Rhonda already ran off to tell someone. "Good Grief," she murmered. Then she could feel eyes piercing on her. People mumbling among themselves. Getting closer…getting louder. Making her head spin.
I have to go see Arnold, Helga thought. He'll know what to do.
She ran out of the halls, and frantically searched. "Okay, okay, so it's lunch time…He uh usually hangs out in the…" Helga squinted and looked up, pursing her lips. "Basketball courts! Yes. No…uh, the Main Quad! Yes, Okay." Helga ran to the Main Quad.
To see Arnold and Lila just sitting together on the cement steps.
She'll understand if I steal Arnold for a minute. Helga pushed her way through the groups of people.
"Move it, damnit," she grumbled.
As she pushed away the last group of people, her breath caught in her chest.
Could her eyes have diseived her?
No it couldn't be…
Has Arnold been lying to her?
Locked are their lips…Lila's and Arnold's.
His arm was around her whole body. Her hands were behind his neck.
Their bodies were so close to each other. Helga shook her head. No…no. This can't be.
She was too hurt to cry. Hit too hard to think. The bell rang. Everyone shuffled around her. How can she possibly survive the rest of this day?
Helga walked down the street with a blank stare on her face. For the second of the day, everyone was saying how sorry they were for her. Thankfully people at the school weren't inconsiderate assholes. But she hated when people told her that they felt sorry for her. To add to all those worries, Arnold was sticking his tongue down Lila's throat. Whatever happened to the two of them?
He has obligations, you know. He has to be there for Helga. And for the baby. And not with Lila. It's not like Lila was having his baby. Helga was. Helga! He should love her! He should be kissing her in the halls…holding her hands, and taking her books.
Just friends. How stupid are those two words? She thought it meant nothing. But…it did. He really did mean it.
How stupid could she have been?
…Not stupid enough…
She opened the door and walked inside. For some reason it was eerily quiet. Then it happened. Helga began to cry. Her eyes filled with tears, and she couldn't help but blink. Water poured from her two eyes like crazy. It was stupid. Why was she crying?
Her backpack just dropped on the ground. No one was home. Good thing too. What are the consequences of Helga allowing herself to cry so much? She never had to cry this much.
How she wanted to fling herself on the sofa, let her lie on her stomach. But her stomach was too big to let her do that. "Wh-hy…" she wailed.
She walked herself to the kitchen, where she cried on the table. Her arms were folded, and her head rested on them. Her eyes were still weeping. Sniffing, she raised her head and looked around as her eyes began to dry.
Then her eyes caught a glimpse of the cutting board with a lonely knife on it.
Slowly, she got up from the chair and straightened up. Her tongue went over her front teeth as she walked towards it.
The front door opened. Arnold walked in. "Helga…I was waiting for you for a long time in the parking lot, where were you?" He wondered aloud. He dropped off his backpack next to Helga's. "I thought I was going to bring you home. Everyone thought I looked like a fuckin' idiot."
Helga touched the cool steel with her fingers and rubbed them together. She drew in a deep breath and held the wooden handle and lifted it up.
Arnold unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt and walked into the kitchen. "Helga!" He exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing?" His voice was low, and he tried staying calm.
Helga looked away from him. "Why would you care?"
"You're not planning to…"
Helga put the tip of the knife to her neck. "Why should I even stay here?" her voice shook.
Arnold's jaw dropped. "Because you have a baby! You're going to have a baby!"
"This baby has been nothing but trouble for me. Headaches every day, back pains…and this annoying stomach. Just sticking out. Everyone knows in school now," she said dryly. "Everyone."
"So what?" Arnold was nervous…he was approaching her very slowly.
"Don't even get near me, Arnold." She shook her head. "I can't take this anymore. I'm only 17! I'm not capable of having this baby. I don't want to go through this anymore. I can't…I won't. I…this is just the baby's fault," she wailed. She put the knife to her stomach.
"Helga! No!" Arnold gasped. He reached out for her, though she was fifteen feet away.
"I hate this baby. I hate this life. I hate you and Lila…and Rhonda. And that stupid party…This stupid baby," she murmered, tears streaming down her face. "Why shouldn't I kill this baby? Why should I be the one who has to be cursed to have this baby…huh? Why?"
Her grip tightened.
Arnold gulped. He didn't know what to say. What can you say to a woman who's going crazy? Was it really going crazy?
"C'mon Helga. Be reasonable…don't kill the baby just because you think it's ruining your life." He walked towards her carefully. "Don't…you know it's wrong. You could make your life worse just by doing it. Ya know? You could get in jail for homocide or something…"
Helga still cried, the knife pressed against her stomach.
"We have to stay strong, ok?" He gently touched her arm.
We. Helga cried harder. "We?"
"Yes. We…please, Helga. Drop the knife. It's the right thing to do. I love you too much to let you do this."
Helga looked up and sniffed.
"Please, just be sensible. Please just be reasonable…" he pleaded.
Helga dropped the knife on the ground and cringed down crying. "Oh Arnold…my life is such a mess."
Arnold crouched down next to her and rocked her in his arms. "Ssh, don't worry Helga. We'll get through this. I promise you. It's not the end of the world."
Helga cried. "I can't handle this…I'm too young. And I left my family…for this baby." Her voice cracked.
"It's okay, Helga. It's okay. I'll stand by you. Always." He kissed the top of her head. "Just calm down and relax. It seems like you've had a hard day."
Helga tried to steady her breath. "I saw you and Lila kiss," she said blankly.
Arnold stayed quiet and kept his hold on her.
Helga cooled off after a while. She decided to just stay in school, and no one seemed to care or notice her … differences. Probabl because Arnold had a talk with them all, she thought. After all, he was the class president.
"So, Arnold…" began Lila. They were on a date.
"Yeah, Lila?"
"Are we ever going to move forward?"
"Move forward?"
"Yes, like maybe I could wear your class ring…or we can actually be called a 'couple'?"
"Well, uh, I don't know."
"You don't know?" she repeated.
"Um, no."
"You know, whenever we walk together, everyone's thinking I'm some kind of a whore because I'm going out with you and Helga's having your baby."
"I understand…"
"No you don't. They start making me mad. I want them to know that you love me. And not Helga. Can you understand that?"
Arnold nodded.
"So I want to know. What are you two going to do with the baby?"
"We've been discussing things…but we're not sure…"
"Tell me now, Arnold. Is it me, or Helga?"
***
Arnold walked in through the door. What a crappy day.
"Oh my God, Arnold!" Helga squealed. "Come here, come here! Hurry!" urged Helga from the living room.
Arnold raised an eyebrow and quickly ran into the living room. "What happened? What is it?" He looked worried.
"Feel," she said in almost a whisper. Arnold walked up to her nervously. She took his hand and placed it on the stomach. "Can you feel it?"
Arnold smiled. His whole face brightened. "It's kicking…the baby's kicking." He began to chuckle.
"Sure is…wonderful, isn't it?" She smiled.
"When did the baby start kicking?" He wondered.
"I duno, during school I suppose. But you were so busy, and I couldn't find you, I figured I'd tell you later."
Arnold sat next to her, with his hand still on her stomach. "This is amazing…"
"Yeah. It is."
"Too bad we're going to have to give her away…"
Helga sighed slightly. "Yeah…well…then we'll have nothing to worry about after birth and all. And some older couple will be happy."
Arnold nodded. He leande over and kissed her cheek. "I'm so happy right now."
Helga grinned at him.
A/N: Isn't Lila such a bitch? Hahahaha…well…there's another chapter coming. So…yeah. No one's reviewing anymore =(. Be nice and review for me…oh, and if you want to be notified about my next chapter…please tell me. It'll be a big event.
Oh and…I'm nominated for an award!? Crazy, man…well…yeah. How did that happen…? Well check out all the nominees: http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=989687 alright? Your vote counts! … right … there are so subliminal messages in this A/N…I just tell ya straight up.