Summary: Arnold with Cecile…Helga is jealous…
Disclaimer: I Do NOT own Hey Arnold! Silly nits: I thought you'd know by now. I also do not own the song "Obvious" by Christina Aguilera.
Chapter Three: Isn't it Obvious?A/N: Shira: well, we must admit
that that episode of Cecile and Arnold was quite a while ago. Helga only posed
as Cecile, and Cecile is actually a real person. Yup…
Oh and I tried to incorporate a song into this chapter. I'm not very good at
songfics…*bleh*
"Cecile?" Arnold stuttered, as he approached her cautiously.
She turned around and smiled warmly. "Arnold?" she got up and opened her arms. "It eez so good to see you!" They kissed on both cheeks. "Sit down, please!"
Arnold sat down across from her, still in awe. Though there was something different about her. She wasn't what he thought she would be like. Helga cleared her throat. "Oh yeah," he got up quickly, "and this is my friend, Helga."
"Salut," Cecile said enthusiastically and smiled.
Helga gave her a fake grin and sat down next to Arnold.
"Here is ze menu," she handed Arnold a menu.
He looked over it quickly, "Maybe I'll have the croque-monsier…"
"Sounds good," mumbled Helga. "I think I'll have a cheese sandwich."
"Oui, I'm having ze hamburger…"
The waiter came. "Vous avez choisi?"(1)
"Oui, donnez-moi un croque-monsier et une limonade," said Arnold. (2)
"Je voudrais un sandwich au fromage et un coca," smiled Helga. (3)
"Donnez-moi les hamburger et un citron presse, s'il vous plait." (4)She grinned and flipped her hair out of her face. She had really silky brown hair that flowed past her shoulders. So long and flowy, it just made Arnold adore her even more.
Helga, on the other hand, did not like it. She hated the way it reminded her of Lila. So utterly like a Little Miss Perfect. But why should she hate her anyway? She had no motive, no reason…but then you see the way Arnold's staring at her.
There was a new girl on her hit list now.
"So, Arnold," she said, "it has been a long time."
Arnold nodded. "A very long time…"
Helga rolled her eyes.
"How is, um, Gerald?" Gerald had a little accent in it.
"He's fine. I think…we lost touch because he moved during High School."
"Oh, that iz too bad!" She pouted and Helga noticed her pink lipstick and gloppy mascara. "He was a very nice person."
Arnold nodded again.
"How are you liking Paris so far?" she asked him.
"I like it a lot, it's really beautiful," he smiled.
Helga cleared her throat.
"Yeah, Helga likes it too, don't you Helga?" he didn't even turn her way.
"Yep…" she muttered under her breath and sank down in her chair. Suddenly she didn't feel very welcomed. Arnold and Cecile began to engage in a conversation about everything except for Helga. Then the food came.
"So," began Cecile, "are you and Helga a couple?"
"No," Arnold said immediately. "We're just, friends."
Right, Helga thought, just friends…
"Oh I see!" she grinned. "Where are ze two of you going to later?"
"Maybe the Louvre…" said Arnold. "Would you like to come with us?"
Helga kicked his shin.
He bit his lip and glared at Helga.
"I'm sorry, I'm going to be busy the rest of ze day. Maybe some other time?"
"Sure…that's cool." He grinned. "But it would be nice to have a tour guide around Paris."
"You make me blush!" she laughed and touched her cheeks.
Helga mimicked her silently, moving her mouth with an ugly expression on her face. "Um, Arnold," she began, "since we're done eating and all, don't you think we should get going? I mean, we do want to get back to the hotel before it's too dark."
Arnold looked at Helga briefly to see the uncomfortable look on her face. "Yeah…we should." He turned to Cecile and put a wad of cash on the table. "That's for lunch. Merci beaucoup," he grinned.
"Au revoir Arnold, au revoir Helga." She waved good-bye to them as they walked out of the café.
Helga punched his arm when they were a block away from the café.
"Ouch, damnit, what was that for?" he cursed, rubbing his arm.
"For wasting my time!" she growled, "it was like I didn't even exist! And you…you didn't even bother to even look my way twice!" she punched him again.
"Ouch!" he growled, "I'm sorry…I'll make it up to you…I'll buy you an ice cream later?"
"I'm not ten years old!"
"C'mon, Helga…don't tell me you're jealous of Cecile." He chuckled.
ºCan you hear it in my voice
was it something I let slip?
Does the whole world know
isn't it obvious?º
"I am not." She crossed her arms.
"Aw, Helga…you are jealous."
"Am not!" she punched his arm again.
He laughed and put his hands on her shoulders, stopping her. He turned her around to look at him straight in the eyes, "let's just get to the Louvre and forget about all of this. How does that sound?"
Helga couldn't do anything about it. She always gave in to his charm. "Okay," she said almost reluctantly, looking at the ground.
"Okay." He leaned in and kissed her forehead, and put his arm around her. "Now let's go."
***
"Isn't that a magnificent painting, Arnold?" Helga sighed softly. "I mean, look at the use of reds," her hand swayed with the color of Louis XIV's red curtains in the background.
"Yeah, man," he shook his head, "that man was rich…"
"Duh, Arnoldo, he was only king. But look at his expression. You can't get art like that anymore."
"No, you can't…" he looked more closely at the painting. "Wow, is that…is he wearing tights?" he snickered.
Helga shoved her elbow in his stomach. "Shut up…"
They walked over to another painting. This painting was huge and was half the height of the wall. It had a golden frame. It was of Napoleon crowning some woman, Helga thinks it was Josephina (?). It was so beautiful…and elaborate. The bright colors, and the dark crowd in the stands. Though it was dark, they could still see the expression on their faces. It was magnificent.
"Wow," Helga put her hand on her chest. "This is…"
"Beautiful," Arnold finished. "Just…"
"Incredible." Helga stood there in awe. "I wish I could do that…"
"Be crowned as Princess?"
"No! paint!" Helga smiled, "but the only problem is that I have no paints or anything." She laughed softly.
"Yeah, that's just a minor problem…"
"Did you bring the camera?" she wondered, extending her arm and opened her palm.
"Camera?" he repeated. "I thought you were going to bring the camera…I mean you do have that bag and all…"
Helga gasped and slapped her forehead. "Damnit, I didn't bring the camera…"
"Why not? You bring everything in your purse!"
"Well, you were rushing me!" she stomped her foot. Just as she was about to scream, Arnold put his hand over her mouth.
"Frankly, Helga, this is not the right place to be screaming." He whispered in her ear. She blushed. "I thought you'd know that."
ºI'm the one who's in control
now I'm acting like a fool
do my feelings show
is my face aglow
Isn't it obvious?º
He took his hand off of her face. "Are we going to be okay now?" He searched for her eyes.
Helga just nodded.
"Okay, good."
They continued to look at the different exhibits, and talked about each one. They were all so stunning, and big…and the Mona Lisa, oh my! A whole room just for this one painting which took Leonardo 7 years to complete. Arnold and Helga jokingly walked across the room a couple of times to see if her eyes really did follow.
After spending about 3-4 hours in the Louvre, they've pretty much seen everything except for the Exit. The museum was so big, and there were so many people, Helga confused herself. They didn't really go out, they actually went into a gift shop instead.
Inside the gift shop, they sold prints of paintings, books, toys, puzzles, and things like that. Also, voila! A disposable camera. But Helga had to debate about it with herself; they did bring a nice digital camera…was a disposable camera really necessary?
One day without a camera wouldn't make a big difference anyway. They'd come back…
Helga walked away from the camera and looked for Arnold. It was quite a big gift shop. Two floors. "Arrnoolldd," she hummed, "where are you?"
She found Arnold on the second floor talking with a little French girl. She didn't want him to see her so she hid behind a bookcase and peeked at him through the corner of her eyes.
"Êtes-vous les Etats-Unis?" the girl asked eagerly. (5)
"Oui…je suis." Arnold grinned.
Her eyes widened and grinned happily. "Ronald McDonald vit-il lá?"
"Oui, je l'ai vu avant aussi."
"vraiment?"
Arnold nodded.
"Wow!" she smiled. "A-t-il un nez rouge?"
"Oui! Et grandes chaussures souples rouge!"
"Magnifique!" she squealed. Then her mother came along.
"Ah, Madeline!" she exasperated, "Je vous avais recherché partout!" (6)
"La mère désolée, mais moi avaient parlé à ce garçon au sujet de Ronald McDonald!" she pointed to Arnold. "c'était intéressant!"
"Bien, nous devons aller maintenant." She took her daughter's small hand in hers and looked up at Arnold. "Merci de s'occuper d'elle."
"Ce n'était aucun problème, elle était amusement à parler à." He said, and waved good-bye to them as they walked away.
Helga melted instantly. Arnold was so sweet with kids. It was definitely a turn-on for her. As she walked towards him, she tripped over a box on the floor. So much for trying to be graceful.
ºThat I don't know what I'm doing anymore
I'm feeling like a little girl
caught up in emotions
I'm out of control
Isn't it obvious?º
"Oof!" she fell on the ground.
"Helga!" Arnold said worriedly, quickly standing next to her, helping her up from the ground. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," she rubbed her elbow. "I should be fine…but who in the right mind would be able to see that box in the middle of the floor?"
"Are you sure you're going to be okay? Nothing's broken or anything, right?" He still had a hold of her arms.
"Right, right," she said hastily. "I don't need your help."
"Alright," Arnold put his hands up in the air.
Helga straightened up and took a step and fell back. Damn her shoes! Luckily Arnold caught her from behind. He was just fast like that. She went crazy when he touched her. Arnold put his arms around her from the back while holding her hands and he began to walk. Helga stumbled along with him.
"Arnold you're crazy, we can't walk like this the whole way."
"Just until we get out of the gift shop. There's something up with the friction between the floor and your shoes." He had a strong hold on Helga. So strong that even if she were there limp, he would still keep her from slumping down.
"I feel like I'm two and need someone to help me walk," she mumbled.
"You're not two, but you do need me to help you walk."
ºDo you see my hands, they tremble
Wonder why I can't look you in the eyes
Don't know how long
I can keep this inside
Isn't it obvious?º
Everyone stared as they walked down the stairs like that and walked out the door. Helga felt so embarrassed. Just when they stepped out the door, Helga's cheeks began to cool off.
"I think you're going to be able to walk now…" mumbled Arnold.
"Okay." She paused. "Why aren't you letting me go?"
"Oh, right." He let go of Helga carefully. Seems like he was caught in the moment like Helga. "What time is it?" he wondered.
Helga looked at her watch. "Hmm…it's five."
"I think we should get back to the hotel. I mean…yeah. We'll order room service and find out how to get to the Eiffel Tower." He grinned.
"Sounds like a plan to me!"
They walked out of the Louvre with their arms linked together. After walking for about a block with no subway, they discovered that they were lost and tired.
"Arnold," growled Helga, "I can't walk anymore. We've been walking the whole day! And I'm hungry…and I think we're lost."
"Nonsense…we're not lost. And, sure, we're hungry and tired…but let's not have that keep us down!"
Helga rolled her eyes and sat down on the curb. She leaned her cheek on her hand. "What now?"
Arnold looked around as people walked by. "Excusez-moi!" he said. They just walked by him. "Pardon, Mademoiselle?"
"Face it, Arnold…they're not going to help us."
Arnold pulled Helga up from the curb. "They will if you put my shirt under your dress."
Helga shook her head. "Sure, when Hell freezes over!"
"Do you want to get back to the Hotel and eat something or not?"
She bit her lip and groaned. "Fine!"
Arnold took off his plaid shirt and mushed it into a ball and gave it to Helga. All he had on now was a white shirt and jeans. Helga turned around and stuffed it into her dress. The waist line was fitted, so his shirt nearly tore it. She put her hands under the fake stomach and had a grumpy look on her face.
Someone walked by. "Svp! Quelqu'un nous aident, mon épouse est dans le travail!"(7) Arnold pleaded. "Please! My wife is in labor, can someone help us?"
Helga began to moan and scream. Arnold put a hand on Helga's stomach.
"nous avons besoin juste d'un tour au souterrain!" he said. "We just need a ride to the subway."
Helga began to moan even louder.
The lady Arnold was pleading to told them to follow her to her car. Helga and Arnold rode in the backseat of her car as she raced to the subway. Helga had to fake breathing exercises…Hee, hee, hoo…hee, hee, hoo…Arnold pretended to wipe her forehead with a napkin.
She stopped in front of the subway entrance and made sure if Helga was okay and if they needed any help. How sweet…Once they got out of the car, and out of the lady's sight, Helga took his shirt out.
"You were magnificent!" he laughed under ground. "All those 'hee, hee, hoos' and that moaning!"
Helga giggled along. "Yeah, well, don't think I'm going to do that again."
The train pulled up in front of them and this time they were lucky enough to get two seats next to each other. Helga let out a deep breath, and slumped down next to Arnold. She put her head on his shoulder and had his plaid shirt on her legs. "Are we going to ride this straight to the hotel?"
"Yeah," he patted her head. "Then we have to walk for another block."
Helga pouted. "That sucks…"
"Unless you're thinking of what I'm thinking…" he laughed.
"Oh please!" Helga laughed and hit him jokingly. She smiled as Arnold played with her pony-tail.
ºSuddenly these emotions are in control of my heart
Can you see it in my eyes
Every glance, every smile must give me away
And I feel so much I can't hideº
"Why do they call it a pony tail?" he wondered aloud. "and pigtails…that's stupid…"
Helga looked up and him and began to laugh again.
"I'm serious!" he said, chuckling himself.
A/N:2 French lesson for today:
(1): "Have you chosen?"
(2): "Bring me the croque-monsier and a 7up" (Croque-monsier = Ham and cheese,
Limonade – something like 7up. You know?)
(3): "I'd like a cheese sandwich and cola."
(4): "Bring me a hamburger and orange juice, please."
(5): "Are you from the United States?"
- Yes, I am
- Doesn't Ronald McDonald live there?
- Yes, and I've seen him before too.
- really?
- Does he have a red nose?
- Yes! And big red shoes too!
(6) –Ah, Madeline!, I've been looking for you everywhere!
- Sorry, Mother but I've been talking
to this man about Ronald McDonald! , it was interesting!
- Well, we must go now. , thank you for
keeping my daughter occupied.
- It was no problem, she was very fun to talk to.
REMEMBER! For most of these, I used a translator…they may not be accurate. I'm SSOOORRRYY!!!
And I'd like to give a special thanks to kitkatkidd2004 for helping me with Cecile. =)
If you've gotten this far, you might as well R/R!
