Rescuing Arnold
Rating: PG-13 (Swearing, weaponry, and violence)
Chapter 03
"April Fools Beauty"
~~~~~~~~~~
The rainy day had been the least of his problems that morning. The fear of revenge hung heavily in the air. He still remembered the fourth grade, the "blinding" prank, and the look on her face when he spun her into the YMAA pool. Sure, last year at this time, he luckily came down with the flu and missed that day of school. This year, however, he was in perfect health and she was acting awfully suspicious, especially around him. He sighed and rounded the corner, choosing to ignore the sound of rapid footsteps approaching from said corner. He grunted painfully as he crashed into someone and fell to the cold floor. He rubbed his tailbone and ankle; quickly stood up and offered a hand to the companion he had collided into and knocked to the ground of the school. His eyes widened at the sight of the girl on the ground. "Sorry about that, Helga." He said as the girl glared at him then took his hand. He smiled apologetically and hoisted her back to her feet. She flashed him a mischievous grin.
"No problem, Arnoldo." She said sweetly. He grimaced and watched intently as she brushed off her pink dress. He felt a blush hit his cheeks as he found his own eyes wandering down her neck, to her torso then to her petite waistline and beautiful legs, along with all the newly developing curves. He quickly turned his eyes before she could notice. "After all, Arnold, I was the one running "blindly" down the halls." He quickly cleared his throat and turned towards the ground in shame.
"Yeah." He chuckled nervously. "Um, Helga?" He looked back at her, this time their eyes meeting. She blushed faintly, which seemed to be ignored, and put her hands on her hips, teasing him and playing with his inner emotions. He swallowed hard as he felt butterflies rise in his stomach, fluttering around his ribcage, causing his heart to race. He quickly shook the feeling off and looked sheepishly back at her. "You're not mad at me, are you?"
Her hands dropped from her sides and she laughed quietly, which sent an adoring chill up his spine. "No, Football-head, I'm not mad at you." She answered honestly as she walked past him and to her locker. She fiddled with the code and opened it, stuffing her books inside.
He sighed relieved. "Good." He uneasily shifted his feet as the butterflies returned and started flying around in his throat. He cleared them as they rolled down his throat and into his insides. He sighed, wondering if he should ask her what was on his mind. Finally he gathered up enough courage and turned to profile her. "So." He paused, and turned his gaze to look at her. "Are you going to the April Fools dance with anyone tonight?"
She narrowed her eyes challengingly. "No one asked me yet. It's cool though. Even if no one asks me, I'm still going. Dr. Bliss bought me this dress and I've been dying to wear it somewhere." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and smirked at him. He watched as each strand of her hair caught a glimmer from the fluorescent lights above. "How about you, Arnoldo? Are you going to the dance?" He shifted his gaze again and nodded, trying hard not to stare into her captive eyes once more.
"Helga," he paused as she looked at him curiously, "save me a dance tonight, okay?" She smiled and nodded, just as the bell rang for class. "Well, we'd better get going."
"Yeah. Mr. Frank will have our hides if we're late again."
~~~~~~~~~~
Later that night at the dance, Arnold waited patiently by the DJ stand for Helga to show up. All the couples were dancing and talking, having a good time. He sighed heavily, his eyes cast out towards the gym door. Through out the night, a few girls had come up to him and asked him to dance, but he declined each one, including Lila. Finally the doors opened and a figure stepped inside the gym. Her slim body adjourned a spaghetti strap red dress with a "V" neck and a lengthened cut just above her knees. Her white chocolate skin held a faux diamond necklace and her light blond hair was held up in a bun with chopstick hair ornaments and her earlobes each held a dangling diamond earring. A pair of red velvet shoes and a matching diamond anklet occupied her feet. Her fingernails sparkled as did her cornflower blue eyes as they scanned the dance floor for the waiting partner. She smiled when she finally saw him. He gasped as he saw her entrance, as if she wasn't even touching the floor as she glided down the steps and towards him, just as if she had a pair of invisible wings attached to her exposed back. Their eyes locked, they smiled at each other, and he held out a hand. She blushed slightly at him and they waltzed out onto the dance floor, no other person around for miles. The two were lost in each other's arms as they danced the night away. They had no need for words as their movements made up for lost time, broken hearts, and cruel words. He smiled deeply as the song ended and the space between their lips closed. Their visionary world broke at the sound of a man's voice over the loudspeaker, and they both parted before they even touched. She looked at him sorrowfully, unbeknownst to him, then at the real world.
"All right everyone. Now that we brought you down, let's bring you back up with a classic rock from Barenaked Ladies. From their album Stunt, get ready to dance to the song, One Week." Helga and Arnold looked at each other and blushed. He took her hand and quietly led her off the dance floor and towards the newly built garden in the back of the building.
~~~~~~~~~~
Helga hugged her shoulders as a chill breeze blew past her, ruffling her dress, causing some of her hair to fall in front of her ears and blow gently in the crisp wind. Arnold sighed and traced a stone path on the side of a fountain. He looked at her and smiled gently, half of his face hidden in mysterious shadow. She huffed grumpily and sat on a marble bench next to the fountain. "Okay, Arnold, you got me out here. What's up?" He sighed and turned a stone over in his fingers. She turned her head to one side and placed her hand atop his. "Arnold, what's wrong?" He smiled sadly and shook his head.
"There's nothing wrong, Helga." He paused slowly and looked at her. "At least, nothing you should worry about. It's a family problem." Helga sighed and pulled him down to sit next to her. She turned slowly to face him and put her head on his shoulder. She sincerely took his hand as he cast his emerald orbs on her sapphire ones. He smiled and hugged her tenderly. "I wish you could help me. Helga." he paused, trying to hold back the butterflies arising in his stomach from being so close to her, "I'm leaving tomorrow, with my parents." Helga quickly looked at him, backing away. He shivered slightly at the loss of warmth from her body.
"You're joking, right?" She asked, feeling her heart break. He shook his head slowly as her eyes burned in their sockets. She turned away from him and stood up, taking a few deep breaths. She frowned as a single crystallized tear rolled down her skin. "You're leaving tomorrow? With your parents?" He nodded and tore his eyes from hers. She clenched her hands by her side and spun on her heal. "Thank you." She muttered. His face quickly snapped up to look at her. "Thank you for always being there whenever I needed you. Thank you for everything, Arnold." She started to walk away and quickly glanced over her shoulder. "I guess this is good-bye then." She whispered sadly and turned to run. He quickly stood up from the bench.
"Helga!" But it was too late. She didn't turn around and come back to him. She was gone forever. Gone from his life and he felt the butterflies from his stomach well up in his throat and erupt in a small shower of tears as he whispered her name into the night sky.
~~~~~~~~~~
Helga turned the corner just as the heal on her shoe broke. She cursed loudly and threw the shoe across the alley and kept on running. She had heard him call to her, but she knew better than to answer. She knew that if she answered, her biggest secret would come out, and most likely by the next day, everyone would know about her love for the boy.
She tripped up her stoop, her vision clouded by tears. She threw open the door and barged inside, ignoring the nasty remark from her father and the drunken voice of greeting from her mother. She quickly wiped the tears from her face and trudged along upstairs, the carpet hitting her bare, cut up foot. She quickly threw open the door to her room and just as quickly slammed it shut. She threw her dress off her body, exposing the warm flesh of her stomach, legs and shoulders to the crisp air.
She quickly ran towards her closet shrine and whipped the door open, barging inside. She quickly pulled the locket from its golden chain and threw it behind her into the garbage can. Soon after the locket, a small statue of Arnold's upper body followed, along with ten volumes of pink love books, a diary, a football, a few cookies and about seven pink, red and white candles. She stormed over towards the garbage can and pulled out a small pink book. She narrowed her eyes at it and began to tear the pages out, one by one, destroying every word on the page.
She sighed after all the books and pages were torn apart. Finally she collapsed on her bed and began to sob uncontrollably. She glanced out the window and huffed angrily as a football shape cloud rolled by the crescent moon. "Damn." She muttered. "How could he? How could he leave me like this?" She sighed heavily and sifted through a pile of dirty clothes at the foot of her bed. Finally she found her usual pink dress and something extra. Something she had only worn once: a trench coat. She narrowed her brow and snatched the trench coat up. After throwing on her dress, she quickly wrapped the coat around her and climbed out the window.
Rating: PG-13 (Swearing, weaponry, and violence)
Chapter 03
"April Fools Beauty"
~~~~~~~~~~
The rainy day had been the least of his problems that morning. The fear of revenge hung heavily in the air. He still remembered the fourth grade, the "blinding" prank, and the look on her face when he spun her into the YMAA pool. Sure, last year at this time, he luckily came down with the flu and missed that day of school. This year, however, he was in perfect health and she was acting awfully suspicious, especially around him. He sighed and rounded the corner, choosing to ignore the sound of rapid footsteps approaching from said corner. He grunted painfully as he crashed into someone and fell to the cold floor. He rubbed his tailbone and ankle; quickly stood up and offered a hand to the companion he had collided into and knocked to the ground of the school. His eyes widened at the sight of the girl on the ground. "Sorry about that, Helga." He said as the girl glared at him then took his hand. He smiled apologetically and hoisted her back to her feet. She flashed him a mischievous grin.
"No problem, Arnoldo." She said sweetly. He grimaced and watched intently as she brushed off her pink dress. He felt a blush hit his cheeks as he found his own eyes wandering down her neck, to her torso then to her petite waistline and beautiful legs, along with all the newly developing curves. He quickly turned his eyes before she could notice. "After all, Arnold, I was the one running "blindly" down the halls." He quickly cleared his throat and turned towards the ground in shame.
"Yeah." He chuckled nervously. "Um, Helga?" He looked back at her, this time their eyes meeting. She blushed faintly, which seemed to be ignored, and put her hands on her hips, teasing him and playing with his inner emotions. He swallowed hard as he felt butterflies rise in his stomach, fluttering around his ribcage, causing his heart to race. He quickly shook the feeling off and looked sheepishly back at her. "You're not mad at me, are you?"
Her hands dropped from her sides and she laughed quietly, which sent an adoring chill up his spine. "No, Football-head, I'm not mad at you." She answered honestly as she walked past him and to her locker. She fiddled with the code and opened it, stuffing her books inside.
He sighed relieved. "Good." He uneasily shifted his feet as the butterflies returned and started flying around in his throat. He cleared them as they rolled down his throat and into his insides. He sighed, wondering if he should ask her what was on his mind. Finally he gathered up enough courage and turned to profile her. "So." He paused, and turned his gaze to look at her. "Are you going to the April Fools dance with anyone tonight?"
She narrowed her eyes challengingly. "No one asked me yet. It's cool though. Even if no one asks me, I'm still going. Dr. Bliss bought me this dress and I've been dying to wear it somewhere." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and smirked at him. He watched as each strand of her hair caught a glimmer from the fluorescent lights above. "How about you, Arnoldo? Are you going to the dance?" He shifted his gaze again and nodded, trying hard not to stare into her captive eyes once more.
"Helga," he paused as she looked at him curiously, "save me a dance tonight, okay?" She smiled and nodded, just as the bell rang for class. "Well, we'd better get going."
"Yeah. Mr. Frank will have our hides if we're late again."
~~~~~~~~~~
Later that night at the dance, Arnold waited patiently by the DJ stand for Helga to show up. All the couples were dancing and talking, having a good time. He sighed heavily, his eyes cast out towards the gym door. Through out the night, a few girls had come up to him and asked him to dance, but he declined each one, including Lila. Finally the doors opened and a figure stepped inside the gym. Her slim body adjourned a spaghetti strap red dress with a "V" neck and a lengthened cut just above her knees. Her white chocolate skin held a faux diamond necklace and her light blond hair was held up in a bun with chopstick hair ornaments and her earlobes each held a dangling diamond earring. A pair of red velvet shoes and a matching diamond anklet occupied her feet. Her fingernails sparkled as did her cornflower blue eyes as they scanned the dance floor for the waiting partner. She smiled when she finally saw him. He gasped as he saw her entrance, as if she wasn't even touching the floor as she glided down the steps and towards him, just as if she had a pair of invisible wings attached to her exposed back. Their eyes locked, they smiled at each other, and he held out a hand. She blushed slightly at him and they waltzed out onto the dance floor, no other person around for miles. The two were lost in each other's arms as they danced the night away. They had no need for words as their movements made up for lost time, broken hearts, and cruel words. He smiled deeply as the song ended and the space between their lips closed. Their visionary world broke at the sound of a man's voice over the loudspeaker, and they both parted before they even touched. She looked at him sorrowfully, unbeknownst to him, then at the real world.
"All right everyone. Now that we brought you down, let's bring you back up with a classic rock from Barenaked Ladies. From their album Stunt, get ready to dance to the song, One Week." Helga and Arnold looked at each other and blushed. He took her hand and quietly led her off the dance floor and towards the newly built garden in the back of the building.
~~~~~~~~~~
Helga hugged her shoulders as a chill breeze blew past her, ruffling her dress, causing some of her hair to fall in front of her ears and blow gently in the crisp wind. Arnold sighed and traced a stone path on the side of a fountain. He looked at her and smiled gently, half of his face hidden in mysterious shadow. She huffed grumpily and sat on a marble bench next to the fountain. "Okay, Arnold, you got me out here. What's up?" He sighed and turned a stone over in his fingers. She turned her head to one side and placed her hand atop his. "Arnold, what's wrong?" He smiled sadly and shook his head.
"There's nothing wrong, Helga." He paused slowly and looked at her. "At least, nothing you should worry about. It's a family problem." Helga sighed and pulled him down to sit next to her. She turned slowly to face him and put her head on his shoulder. She sincerely took his hand as he cast his emerald orbs on her sapphire ones. He smiled and hugged her tenderly. "I wish you could help me. Helga." he paused, trying to hold back the butterflies arising in his stomach from being so close to her, "I'm leaving tomorrow, with my parents." Helga quickly looked at him, backing away. He shivered slightly at the loss of warmth from her body.
"You're joking, right?" She asked, feeling her heart break. He shook his head slowly as her eyes burned in their sockets. She turned away from him and stood up, taking a few deep breaths. She frowned as a single crystallized tear rolled down her skin. "You're leaving tomorrow? With your parents?" He nodded and tore his eyes from hers. She clenched her hands by her side and spun on her heal. "Thank you." She muttered. His face quickly snapped up to look at her. "Thank you for always being there whenever I needed you. Thank you for everything, Arnold." She started to walk away and quickly glanced over her shoulder. "I guess this is good-bye then." She whispered sadly and turned to run. He quickly stood up from the bench.
"Helga!" But it was too late. She didn't turn around and come back to him. She was gone forever. Gone from his life and he felt the butterflies from his stomach well up in his throat and erupt in a small shower of tears as he whispered her name into the night sky.
~~~~~~~~~~
Helga turned the corner just as the heal on her shoe broke. She cursed loudly and threw the shoe across the alley and kept on running. She had heard him call to her, but she knew better than to answer. She knew that if she answered, her biggest secret would come out, and most likely by the next day, everyone would know about her love for the boy.
She tripped up her stoop, her vision clouded by tears. She threw open the door and barged inside, ignoring the nasty remark from her father and the drunken voice of greeting from her mother. She quickly wiped the tears from her face and trudged along upstairs, the carpet hitting her bare, cut up foot. She quickly threw open the door to her room and just as quickly slammed it shut. She threw her dress off her body, exposing the warm flesh of her stomach, legs and shoulders to the crisp air.
She quickly ran towards her closet shrine and whipped the door open, barging inside. She quickly pulled the locket from its golden chain and threw it behind her into the garbage can. Soon after the locket, a small statue of Arnold's upper body followed, along with ten volumes of pink love books, a diary, a football, a few cookies and about seven pink, red and white candles. She stormed over towards the garbage can and pulled out a small pink book. She narrowed her eyes at it and began to tear the pages out, one by one, destroying every word on the page.
She sighed after all the books and pages were torn apart. Finally she collapsed on her bed and began to sob uncontrollably. She glanced out the window and huffed angrily as a football shape cloud rolled by the crescent moon. "Damn." She muttered. "How could he? How could he leave me like this?" She sighed heavily and sifted through a pile of dirty clothes at the foot of her bed. Finally she found her usual pink dress and something extra. Something she had only worn once: a trench coat. She narrowed her brow and snatched the trench coat up. After throwing on her dress, she quickly wrapped the coat around her and climbed out the window.