Disclaimer: Yeah, I've never put these on my stories because I forget. Well, for the record, I do not own Hey Arnold! I never have, and I probably never will. I just use the gang in my own little stories =).
Chapter Six: That Tingly FeelingA gentleman is a patient wolf.
"I'm
very impressed."
"She's a friend, just a friend."
"Since when are women just your friends?"
"Since I met her."
-French Kiss
That morning, Cecile took Arnold and Helga out to shop. François was out doing something, Cecile could not say. Not like Arnold really cared, but Helga seemed to be quite disappointed when she heard the news. Not that it really mattered.
Cecile took them into a big mall. There were two stores in there right next to each other made just for formal wear. One was a tuxedo shop and the other was a dress shop.
"Arnold, in ze tuxedo shop, ask for Alix. He is my uncle. Tell him that I sent you. Then he will help you." She grinned. "And Helga, you and I will see ze dresses."
Arnold walked into the tux shop, and Helga and Cecile went into the dress shop. It was almost like walking into a Bridal shop. The dresses were displayed all nicely on manicans and there were women in frilly dresses staring at themselves in the mirror.
(1)"Beinvenue!" greeted a lady in a black miniskirt and white blouse. "Je m'appelle Audrey. Vous aiment de l'aide?"
(2)"Aucun pas en ce moment. Nous regardons autour," said Cecile.
Helga noticed an open doorway between the two formal wear shops. She could see a lot of men, as they could see her. The cash register was smack in the middle.
There was a beeping sound coming from Cecile's pants. She took out her cell phone and pressed a button. "Ooh la la, Helga, I must go for a little while! I forgot the time. I promised ma mere I would buy something. I will see vous later!"
"But how am I…" but before Helga could finish the sentence, Cecile was long gone. …going to get out? "Ah, whatever."
She began to browse the gowns neatly displayed and the shoes on the rack.
(3)"Quel genre de robe recherchez-vous?" another woman in a long black skirt and white blouse asked curtiously.
(4)"Mm, peut-être quelque chose de formel pour un jeu et dîner," said Helga, "n'importe quelle couleur est très bien."
(5)"Je me pense ai des quelques bons pour vous!" she said excitedly. She hurried around and pulled out several dresses for Helga and added that because of Helga's slimness, she would look marvelous in these chosen dresses. Then she stuffed her in a dressing room with one of the dresses.
It was long, black, and strapless with a high slit up to the middle of her thigh. Made her look like a stick. More of a stick than she already was. Reluctantly, she walked out of the dressing room and opened her arms.
(6)"C'est magnifique!" the saleslady said.
(7)Helga shook her head. "Ce n'est pas trop bon."
Arnold was on the other side being sized for a suit. He turned around and caught glimpse of Helga in that black dress. Wow, not bad. Though he felt slightly embarassed looking at her. He felt as if she were the bride and he were the groom and he got some bad luck by looking at her before the wedding. So he turned around and didn't give it a second thought.
The lady gave her a different dress. Actually five different dresses and she did not seem very pleasant in any of them. One made her butt look too big, another made her seem like a mushroom and another made her look like a drag queen (don't even ask).
Finally, one of the last dresses she tried on was a midnight blue. The top was almost like a corset, stringed together on the back with a silk shawl. The bottom flowed like a waterfall with a flair and was very sleek. She fell in love with it.
"Ooh la la," awed the lady. "This is magnificent! Now we must get you the right shoes."
Helga tried on many different shoes which made her feet hurt like hell. Then there was one high heel that was black velvet with a jewel on the top. They fit comfortably.
All together, her ensemble was perfect. She looked like a goddess.
"I'll take it," she said excitedly. She took it off and put on her regular clothes. The lady wrapped it up and took her to the register. "How much is it in american dollars?"
"Hm, c'est 200."
"How about just for rental?"
"C'est 100." Helga nearly choked and gave her a credit card. She walked out with the dress and shoes.
Outside she saw Arnold sitting solemnly on a bench with a bag next to him.
"Damn, Arnold, you're fast!" said Helga.
He looked at his watch. "You've been in there for two hours! I've been sitting here for one!" he complained.
"Well, sorry," She replied, "your majesty." She bowed deeply.
"Damn straight." He laughed, "Where's Cecile?"
"Off doing something for her mom. I think we should get a cab home."
***
"Oh Ma Cherie," he said under his breath, "I love you…"
"François, we have been apart for so long. I've missed you," she wailed softly.
"I know. But I'm doing this for you, Cherie, for you." He nuzzled her neck.
"Let's spend tonight together. Please?"
"I can't. You know I can't…I'm getting our ticket to America." He kissed her.
"I wish we could…"
"We have right now."
***
Cecile called later on telling them to meet her and François in front of the restaurant. Helga almost spent the remainder of the day in the bathroom getting herself ready for the night.
Arnold put on deodarant and a white undershirt and a white dress shirt. He put on his black suit and wrapped a diagonal striped tie around his neck. He felt almost smothered in the suit and looked at himself in the mirror. Not bad. He gelled his hair and combed it nicely. Split in the middle, making it untamed.
It was almost time. As he buttoned his suit he knocked on the bathroom door. "Come on, Helga! You've been in there forever! We need to go!"
"In a minute!" she snapped back.
She looked at herself in the mirror. She had to admit, she was pretty well put together considering she had no help what-so-ever from anyone else.
"Come on!" he growled.
"Coming! Coming!" she opened the door and walked out.
Arnold gawked at her and stopped tying his tie. Her hair was put up with chopsticks, her eyes were outlined magnificently with black, and her lips were colored champagne. She glowed. She was beautiful. That dress did amazing things to her body and fit her perfectly. She was even more beautiful than she was without makeup. It was unbelievable. He closed his mouth and gulped.
"What? Is there something on my face?" she stared at him blankly and touched her face with her hand.
"No, no…" he stepped closer to her. "You look…astounding. Breathtaking. Gorgeous."
"Thanks," she felt her cheeks heat up. "I hope everything goes well tonight."
She sighed and shook her head to see Arnold's distorted tie so she walked up to help him tie it properly. She was able to make it nice and straight and patted his chest and smiled with her glossy lips. "Much better. Now you look like a million bucks."
"Not a billion?"
"Nah, well, you look like 5 million."
Arnold took her hand and put the back of her hand up to his lips. "Merci beaucoup, Madamoiselle." He winked.
Helga blushed as he opened the door for her and they left the room. Arnold watched her every move until they entered the elevator, making sure she didn't trip or ruin an aspect of her dress or body. He guided her through doors lightly touching the small of her back.
She melted as he touched her…and his fingers quivered as he touched her.
"Taxi!" Arnold called out, waving his hand.
The taxi pulled up in front of Helga and Arnold. The two of them got in and were on their way to the restaurant. Helga shivered in the taxi. "Are you cold, Helga?" Arnold asked innocently.
Helga pulled her shawl closer around her body. "Nah."
They arrived at the restaurant. Helga and Arnold walked out in the glamorous clothes as if they were movie stars. There was a man in the front of the restaurant who led Arnold and Helga into the dining areas. That was when Cecile and François saw them.
Cecile was wearing a blue dress and François was wearing something you'd see in an Armani commercial.
"Wow! Helga! Arnold! Ze two of you look wonderful!" Cecile exclaimed, clasping her hands together. She and Helga exchanged kisses on the cheek.
"I agree. Helga is quite enchanting," said François as he kissed her cheek. Funny, she didn't get a slight tingle in her body the way she did when Arnold kissed her hand.
"And Cecile, you look…nice." Arnold smiled and kissed her cheek. She smelled nice, like candy.
They all sat down around the intimate round table. It was covered with a dark purple cloth, and had two candles on the top. There were lots of different silverware for each person as well.
All the four of them was small-talk about stupid things. Actually, there wasn't really a good conversation going on but rather a series of small conversations. Like "So, what do you think of Nicole Kidman?"
"Oh, she's pretty."
"Yeah…" and that would be it.
With all their talking, the food came. It was actually Broccoli soup. Helga and Arnold glanced at each other, confused about which spoon they should use. They saw Cecile and François use the one with the big circle and followed along.
You couldn't blame them, after all.
There were three main dishes. One was a roasted duck, the second was escargots, and the third was fish. Oh, and there was a side dish of cheese, or shall you say le fromage. Helga and Arnold did not touch the snails at all. They watched as Cecile and François happily chomped them down, the two of them were a bit too freaked out to try.
"Oh, Helga, why don't you try it? It eez good!" François offered, pointing at the snails with his fork.
"Oui, you too, Arnold!" said Cecile. "S'il tu plait?" She pouted slightly.
Arnold took his fork and put a snail on his plate, and so
did Helga. They had to use one of those really small forks to get the sail out
of the shell. After a few deep breaths, Arnold put it in his mouth and chewed,
and chewed. It was chewy. Helga seemed to have fun chewing it too.
Eventually Arnold and Helga swallowed. "Mm, actually I like it!" Arnold smacked
his lips.
Helga didn't like it, so she just nodded. "Yeeah. It's…indescribable."
"Have some more!" François insisted, putting more on her plate.
"…Magnifique," she murmered with a smile on her face.
During the middle, they were able to have more lively conversations. Suddenly François's pants buzzed. He looked down and gulped. "Ah, excusez-moi, mes amis. I will be right back." He jumped out of his seat and walked away.
Then Arnold felt like going to the bathroom. It must've been because of the last three glasses of sparkling cider he drank. "Moi aussi, I will be right back," he hurriedly said, rushing to the bathroom.
To his luck, there was no line for the bathroom. It was a big bathroom with black and white tiles and with lots of stalls and, well, urinals. He did his thing, and wondered where the girls' bathroom was. He didn't see it near the men's. Oh well.
He washed his hands, and got out and heard some muffled sounds. Curiously he walked down the hall through the payphones where the sounds got a little louder. He saw a janitorial door opened slightly, the light was on. Arnold decided to peek in and opened the door a little wider.
A red head being ravishly kissed by a tall French man. Who looked extremely familiar. Oh God, Arnold thought. Is that…François? It was. He was practically sucking her whole face in his mouth.
"Oh François…I'm sorry, I just couldn't wait without you any longer. Not after this afternoon," she murmered.
"Cherie, je t'aime. I'm with the girl tonight. I'm going to make it so we'll get our trip to America. Really. I promise you. We can easily be US citizens," he grumbled.
Arnold's eyes widened. Whoa…Helga's going to be crushed. He should tell her. But then again, what if she didn't believe him? What if she did? Then that'd be very good and beneficial towards her. Though, when did he have the time to tell her?
Arnold walked back to the table and sat down quietly.
"You look pale, Arnold," Helga commented. "Are you okay?"
Arnold nodded. "I'll be fine. How about you?"
Helga raised her left eyebrow, "I'm…fine…thanks."
François then sat back down at the table also. "Thank you three for waiting." He flashed his million dollar devinare smile. Arnold's mouth went dry and he sunk down in his chair.
He knew it. He knew François was up to no good. I mean, after all, he was 21, had that mischeivous look on his face, and had that evil smirk plastered on his face.
In the end, the four of them had to quickly scarf down their cheesecake or else they'd be late for the play.
Arnold, François, Helga, and Cecile got situated in their box seats in the balcony. The arrangement was François, Helga, Arnold, Cecile. Arnold liked to sit next to Helga (if you haven't noticed before) so that he could not only spy on her and François, but glance over at her every once in a while and see her pretty face.
Corny, yes. But Arnold didn't seem to care.
Helga used her little binoculars to see the stage. "Wow, this is fantastic with these binoculars." (a/n: Yeah, at an opera they'd be Opera Glasses…but here, I'm just calling them binoculars.)
"The best for you, my dear." François grinned.
That bastard sure can play well, Arnold thought.
(8)"Quatre voudriez-vous du vin rouge?" the usher asked.
"Oui," said François. "Et toi?" he asked Arnold.
"I don't think so…"
"Oh come on, Arnold! Dis is France! Everyone drinks wine," he said joyfully.
"Okay, one glass," he mumbled.
"Deux vin," François told the usher. He gave Arnold and François each a glass of wine and left the bottle.
The lights dimmed, and the curtains opened. The stage lights brightly shone on the stage, and out came a woman who began to dance. Okay, so Cecile lied to Arnold. They actually went to go see a ballet. Not so bad, Arnold could see that there was something going on between this woman dancing and the guy dancing. Or is that guy actually a really masculine woman?
After a couple of hours, the lights were bright again, and the stage curtains closed. Arnold stretched out his arms. Ah, halftime. Er, intermission…
Helga began to groan slightly.
"Are you okay, Helga?" Arnold wondered.
Helga shook her head. "eeugh, I feel like crap. I think it was something I ate," she stuck out her tongue in disgust.
"Oh no!" Cecile squealed. "What could it have been?"
"Maybe that escargot didn't agree with your stomach," said Arnold, and put his hand on her back. "I think we should get you back to the hotel."
"I agree," said François. "In fact, I will take you."
"No, that's okay, François," said Arnold defensively. "I mean, I think I should be the one taking her home. I wouldn't want you to miss the second half of the ballet."
François began to help Helga up from her seat. "No, no. I insist, Arnold. You watch the ballet. Helga is safe in my hands. Really. Besides, I have watched this ballet ten times before. You enjoy yourself with Cecile, and I'll be with Helga."
With that, he walked away.
Arnold cursed in his mind and finished his glass of wine and poured some more wine in the glass.
***
François held Helga's hand and walked with her up to her room. They stopped in front of the door.
"Are you feeling better Helga?" François asked with consideration. His hair fell in front of his face.
She nodded. "A little. Thanks for bringing me back." She smiled softly at him.
"It was no problem." There was a slight twinkle in his eye. Suddenly he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. She kissed him back. He kissed her then with more intensity and more demand. She was stuck in between his body and the door.
"François," she uttered. He kissed down her neck.
"Let me come in," he grumbled under his breath.
"No, I can't…"
"Please?"
"I can't. It's not right…" She managed to push him off.
He stood back and pulled his hands through his dark hair. "You're right. But I have to tell you that I have loved our time together."
"Well, I have too," she said, unaware what was going to happen.
"You can say that I have fallen madly in love with you." He smiled and touched her hair.
Helga slightly chuckled in disbelief. "You're not serious, are you?"
"I am. I am very serious, Cherie. Do you not love me too?"
"I do…"
"That is good because I am so serious that I would want you to marry me." He put his hand in his pocket and took out a tiny box.
Helga gawked. "No…"
"Yes. Say yes, Helga…" he kissed her ear. She could feel his breath on her neck and his lips tickling her skin. He showed her the ring. It had no diamond, but it was nice.
"But what about school?"
"I can support us while you're in school. Please. I've never once met any woman quite like you. You are one in a million…you and I were meant for each other. It was fate, cherie…"
"Um, François, I'm actually still feeling quite sick. I'll get back to you later…d'accord?" she murmered shyly.
"Okay." He leaned in for one more kiss. "Good night." He walked away.
Helga sighed and went into her room and plopped onto the bed.
'Ah, Bridgette, we meet again!' said Yves. 'What brings
you in town?'
'I couldn't stop thinking,' said Bridgette, 'I know it's bad…'
'Bad? Non. Women with minds are wonderful. They bring life into this world…it
gives them life.' He grinned and bit into an apple. 'what were you thinking
of?'
'…You.'
A/N: Well, I hope you liked this. I guess there's going to be one more chapter. Now here's your french lesson for today!:
(1) Welcome! My name is Audrey, would you like some help?
(2) Not at the moment, we're first going to look around.
(3) What kind of dress would you like?
(4) Something formal for a play and dinner, and any color is fine.
(5) I think I have some really good ones for you!
(6) It's magnificent!
(7) No it's not.
(8) Would the four of you like some red wine?
