A/N: Almost to 2004. Personally, I can't wait (although I am seriously behind on everything….work sucks. I mean, I love my job, but I haven't had time to do what I need to get done over break. Then again, it probably would help if I didn't watch Pirates of the Caribbean everyday). Anywho, you don't want to hear about my problems, so here's chapter six.
Disclaimer – I don't own Hey Arnold!
A Sure Thing
Chapter 6 – Between Love and Hate
~ Friday, April 18 ~
"Damn it all to hell."
"What's wrong with you?" Gerald asked from the floor of Arnold's room. He was playing The Legend of Zelda on Arnold's old Nintendo and stuffing his face with Doritos.
"She had to give me tickets to a damn Broadway show, didn't she?"
"Should've thought of something yourself, bro," Gerald muttered.
Arnold sighed. His best friend had not been very sympathetic over the past few days. "Is this good enough?" he asked, gesturing to his khakis and plain white polo shirt.
"How the hell should I know what people wear to those things?"
Arnold's eyes flashed, and he walked over to Gerald and pressed the reset button on the Nintendo.
"Damn it, Arnold, you've just erased my file! I was in level seven!"
"Like it's so hard to beat those guys."
"So? Just because you're paranoid about your date doesn't mean you have to be an asshole."
Arnold walked to the window, saying nothing.
Gerald turned the Nintendo off and turned around to face Arnold. "Somethin' else wrong?"
"Do you know where the Patakis moved to?" he asked as he started out the window.
Gerald shrugged. "Somewhere uptown." He grabbed another handful of chips. "I've never really wanted to know where the Queen of the Bitches spends her nights."
"Don't call her that," Arnold said automatically.
"Ha, after all the hell that girl's caused me, I can call her whatever the hell I want to."
"That wasn't her fault," Arnold muttered.
"Excuse me?" Gerald hissed as he stood up.
"Do I really look okay?"
"Like God-damn Cary Grant. What the hell did you say?"
"I didn't say anything," Arnold snapped as he sprayed some cologne. He coughed. "Ugh, too much."
"She's gonna screw this up. You know that, right?"
"Who's gonna screw what up?" Arnold's expression darkened as he realized a pimple was beginning to form on the side of his nose. Damn! Not now!
"Helga. She'll mess things up between you and Lila."
"Helga's the reason why Lila and I are even going out tonight, remember?"
"Oh, she'll help you out at first. Then she'll make her move. Helga's smart. She knows the higher you climb the harder you fall."
Arnold grabbed a stick of Big Red and his coat. "You sound like a fortune cookie."
"And that's probably something you'll need in a few minutes." Gerald picked up his keys. "I gotta go to work. Just don't screw this up too bad." He left without another word.
"Thanks for the load of confidence." You know, for hating her so much, you and Helga act a lot alike. Arnold grabbed his wallet and decided it was too warm for his coat, and he could not find a jacket nice enough, so he went without anything. He quickly said good-bye to his parents before climbing into a cab.
"1246 Rosette Boulevard," he said to the driver as he shut the door. Disinterested in telling his life story or listening to the driver's, he stared out the window and watched the city pass by. They passed Millen Creek and the house Arnold and his parents lived in when they first returned to Hillwood. He had hated that house. It was too far away from his neighborhood and friends, but he hated even more the reason why they moved back to the boarding house even more. They returned after his grandpa had a stroke midway through his freshman year. Phil recovered amazingly well considering his age, but he could no longer run the boarding house by himself (though Arnold's grandma had helped). Miles, Stella, and Arnold returned to Sunset Arms, and aside of his grandpa's ailment, Arnold had to admit he had been much happier ever since.
That's why I don't know where Helga lives, he thought as the cab pulled up in front of Lila's house. I was still uptown then.
He rang the doorbell, and Ellen promptly answered. "Arnold! How delightful to see you again!"
"How are you, Mrs. Sawyer?" Arnold asked politely. He was not too sure what he thought of Lila's stepmother (although over the past few days he had heard an earful about her from Helga). Ellen had always been polite to him, but it was not until she ran into him and his parents at a benefit last spring that she finally warmed up to him.
"Oh, I'm dreadfully tired. Mark and I have been busy planning a dinner party for the Board of Directors, and I think it's going to be the death of me. The very death of me, Arnold!"
"Board of Directors? Oh, right. Mr. Sawyer works for Big Bob Pataki, right?"
Ellen's eyes flashed. "I wouldn't say that. They're more like partners."
Arnold raised his eyebrows but said nothing. What planet is this lady living on? Hell would have to freeze over twice before Big Bob Pataki would ever even think of having a partner. "Uh, is Lila ready?"
"Oh, Lila, right. I'll go check." She disappeared upstairs, and Arnold was grateful, though he felt even more awkward. He was not a big fan of the Sawyer household. He felt like he was in a museum gift shop; everything was pretty and expensive and breakable, but is was measly clutter that no one needed and was extremely gaudy.
"Arnold!" Lila cried from the top of the stairs, interrupting his thoughts. He was speechless as she descended, not only because Lila looked amazing in her little black designer dress, but also because she looked amazing in her little black designer dress. He felt extremely underdressed. She twirled for him when she reached the bottom of the staircase, clearly waiting for a compliment.
"You look amazing," he said, holding out an arm for her (and feeling like a complete ass).
She smiled as she slipped her gloved arm in his. "I'm ever so glad it's warm tonight. I don't have wear my coat."
"Huh?" He was confused. What type of conversation starter was that? "Oh, right. I didn't bring one either."
Her smiled dropped. "You didn't bring a coat?"
"No. I didn't think I'd need it. Like you said, it's warm out."
She shot him a dirty look, but Ellen called out, "You two have a good time!"
"We will!" Lila shouted back as they walked out the door. Arnold was never so happy to get into a cab, but Lila stopped just before they reached the sidewalk, and he nearly ran into her. "You took a cab?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Oh, no reason." She made a slight face and climbed in.
"Roosevelt Square," Arnold told the cab driver, and they sped off downtown. After listening to Lila giggle for nearly five minutes, Arnold finally asked her what was so funny.
She looked him up and down. "I love the fact that you're so dressed down." Arnold blushed deeply. "It's so hip-rock."
"You mean punk rock?"
"Whatever. Anyways, I think it's brilliant. It'll be a sure way to get everyone's attention." She looked like she was going to burst with excitement at the very thought.
"Right. A sure thing." He ran his hand through his hair out of nervousness, making it even messier. Great. He watched her stare out the window, unsure of what he could say without shooting himself in the foot.
Suddenly Lila whipped around, scaring Arnold half to death (which he would have gladly welcome at this point). "You're not going to take me to that bar after the show, are you?"
"What bar?"
"American Idol. I've heard Helga talk about it, and it sounds absolutely horrible."
"Rival," he said bluntly.
"What?"
"Rival. American Rival. I'd shoot myself before I'd go to a place named after that God-awful show."
Lila's jaw dropped. "What's wrong with American Idol?"
"Where should I begin?" He was aware of his rising voice. "Look, it's not a bar, it's just a club. Besides, I wasn't planning on taking you there."
"Thank God. I mean, I like you, Arnold, but I don't like you enough to go into that place. Who knows what kinds of diseases I'd contract in there." She shuddered, but quickly regained her smile. "Don't worry, I know the perfect place we can go."
"And where's that?" he asked grimly.
"You'll see."
The cab slowed to a stop. "Roosevelt Square," the cabbie said.
"Roosevelt Square? Why aren't we going directly to the Omni?" Lila asked.
"Well, I thought since it's such a beautiful night we could walk there," he replied, stumbling over his words.
"Oh, that's ever so sweet," she squeezed his hand. "But my shoes really aren't meant to walk long distances."
"It's only three blocks!"
"And that's three blocks too many." She tapped the driver's shoulder. "Omni Theater, please."
Needless to say, Arnold was in a very bad mood when they finally reached the theater, and the night showed no signs of improving any time soon.
¤˜¤˜¤
"Oh, it's so sad! Yet so beautiful!"
Arnold rolled his eyes and handed Lila another tissue (he had volunteered halfway into the musical to go down to the drug store and buy her a small pack).
"Thank you ever so much," she said, blowing her nose loudly. "Oh, wasn't that the most beautiful thing ever?"
"It was something all right." He actually had not minded it too much, but to say it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen was a bit of a stretch. He had never been a big fan of Romeo and Juliet, which is basically what West Side Story was, but the music was not half bad. However, he did find it a little far-fetched that a group of gangs from New York would just randomly break out into perfectly choreographed dance numbers. Then again, he may have enjoyed it more if someone beside him had not been reciting every other line. "You ready to go?"
"I suppose," she sniffed. Arnold rolled his eyes.
They went outside to catch a cab with the rest of the audience. Lila tapped her toe loudly on the sidewalk and was staring off into space. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"I know I know that boy over there."
"Who?"
"The one over there. Brown hair, tall, black suit."
Arnold followed her eyes. The said boy was now walking towards them. Lila may not have remembered him, but Arnold did. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he watched the boy. The temperature had dropped, and he now regretted not bringing his coat.
"Lila Sawyer!" the boy said loudly as he hugged her. "You look even more amazing than before!"
"Oh, it's so nice to see you too!" she cried, clearly not remembering the poor boy's name. "What are you doing here?"
He laughed grimly. "I'm with the parents, actually. Well, my parents, their friends, and their friends' daughter. I've been stuck babysitting her all night."
"How horrible!"
"I know. Lila, you're shivering! Why don't you have a coat?"
"I would if somebody would have brought his," she snapped, finally acknowledging Arnold.
"Well, you can have mine." He gave Arnold a dirty look as he put his jacket on Lila's shoulders. "Well, if it isn't the 'Pride of South Central' himself?" he sneered.
Did everyone on the friggin' planet see that article? "In the flesh, and I see you've been keeping up on your scouting reports, Matt Spalding."
"Matt," Lila muttered. "Matt, I didn't know you knew Arnold."
"We've played against each other on a few occasions."
"Meaning we've kicked your ass in regional the past two years."
Matt's face darkened. "Language. You're in the presence of a lady."
Arnold rolled his eyes.
"How's college?" Lila asked.
"Fine." He leaned forward and closer to Lila. His nose was practically touching hers. "I'm keeping busy, what with finals coming up and the baseball team and everything."
"Ooh, how's that going?"
"Yes, Matt, how's the red-shirted life?" Arnold asked. It was a little out of character for him, but the guy was interfering with his date.
Matt's face turned a very ugly shade of purple.
"I keep up on my scouting reports as well," Arnold hissed.
"Well, Lila, looks like our limo is here. It was nice to see you again."
"Likewise, but don't forget your jacket." She started to take it off.
Matt shot a look at Arnold. "Keep it. You need it more than me, and it will give me an excuse to see you again so I can pick it up." He kissed her cheek. "As if I need an excuse to see you."
"Good luck with your finals!" Lila squealed.
"Yeah, I hope you have better luck than last year!" Arnold yelled after him.
Lila hit him in the chest. "What's wrong with you?"
"Me? I'm not the one who's forgotten who she's out on a date with!"
Her eyes narrowed. "How'd you know about that?"
"Please, everyone knows about how Matt's mummy and daddy had to smooth out his cheating incident last year during finals so he could not only graduate but play in the postseason." Arnold laughed. "And from what I remember it cost them a pretty penny."
"I can't believe you!" she cried as she stomped off.
"Lila, that's nothing to get upset about! Matt's an ass!" he said as he followed her. "At least I could remember his name!"
She stopped.
"Look, can we just get a cab and go to that place you were telling me about?"
She paused. "We can walk from here."
So that is how they walked, Lila in Matt's designer coat and her shoes that were not meant for walking long distances, and Arnold behind her in his plain white polo shirt and khakis. When they finally stopped, Lila seemed to be in a better mood. "Here we are!"
Arnold looked up. "The Blue Flamingo?"
"Yep. C'mon." Lila dragged him into the bar, and they sat down at a table by the piano. "You can order whatever you want. The owner's Ellen's cousin, so I'm practically VIP."
Arnold was not big on bar owners who deliberately sold liquor to known minors, but he needed a drink. He spent the next hour listening to a bad piano player and an even worse jazz singer as he drank his rum and coke. Lila drank martinis and kept going on and on about how good the singer was, but she could still do a much better job, as hard to believe as that was. Naturally he was stuck with the bill, which he expected, but he would have liked Lila to at least offer to pay it, since most of the drinks were hers. He would not have let her pay, but an offer was all he asked for.
The cab ride back to Lila's house was hell as she talked about how she and Matt had dated briefly the year before and analyzed why it did not work out. He was tempted to just drop her off, but he walked her to the door like he was supposed to. "Well, here we are," he said, not caring how dumb he sounded.
"It's been interesting, that's for sure," she said. "And I'd be interested to do this again."
"Really?" Arnold was genuinely surprised.
"If you're interested," she said, putting her arms around his neck. "Well, good night." She leaned forward to kiss him, and he was more than surprised when Lila's tongue touched his own.
"Bye, Arnold," she whispered when she finally pulled away and disappeared inside the house.
Arnold was in a daze after his mini-make out session with Lila. The date was horrible, no doubt, but that made up for it a little bit, right?
¤˜¤˜¤
~ Saturday, April 19 ~
"Geez, it's really coming down out there," Miles said as he came into the boarding house.
"Mmm-hmmm," Arnold muttered from the couch in the living room. He was more than thankful; his double header had been cancelled, and he finally had a chance to catch up on homework.
"I'd be careful in there. Roof's been leaking since February."
Arnold held up a saucepan. "Got it covered."
"Good man, but I'd switch to the Dutch oven. It's not going to stop any time soon."
"Right."
"Where's your mom?"
"Doing laundry, I think." Arnold paused. "Why?"
"No reason," Miles said, his voice slightly higher. "Stella!" he shouted.
Arnold turned around. "What did you do?"
Miles laughed sheepishly. "I dropped the cell phone in a puddle. It won't work anymore. Stella!" He sighed. "Why isn't she coming?"
"Dad! You had to go and get the most expensive, up-to-date model, and you dropped it in a puddle?"
"It was slippery! Stella! Arnold's tripped and hit his head on the end table! It's gushing blood pretty bad! Oh God, I think I see bone!"
"Dad!"
Stella ran into the front hallway in seconds. "Where's Arnold? Where's my baby?"
"Oh, the boy's fine. See –"
"Fine? He cut his head open! That's hardly fine! Where is he? Where's my baby?"
"Mom, I'm fine. Dad dropped the phone in a puddle."
Stella held her chest for a moment, catching her breath before thundering, "MILES PHILIP, DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!"
"What, lie about Arnold or drop the cell phone in a puddle?"
"Both!" She glared at him. "You had to go and get the most expensive, up-to-date model, and you dropped it in a puddle?"
Miles smiled slightly at her. Stella sighed. "Well, I guess we'll just see if we can get a replacement. Make sure you go to that little blond at the Emporium. She's the one who gave us the discount when we bought the phone."
Arnold turned around again. "What blond girl?"
Miles shrugged.
"Bob Pataki's daughter," Stella said.
"Helga?"
"Yes, Helga."
"She gave you a discount?"
"Oh, yeah, she was really nice about the whole thing," Miles said, examining the broken phone.
"I'll take the phone down to the Emporium."
Stella and Miles raised their eyebrows.
"I need a break from my trig homework."
"I thought you were dating Lila now." Stella said slowly.
"I am, but –"
"How'd that go?" his father piped up.
"Fine."
"Kinda strange they had a show on Good Friday."
"Yeah, I thought of that, but it was a make up show, like how we had to make up a school day yesterday."
"You're not trying to date two girls, are you Arnold?" Stella asked with a stern look on her face.
"No! I have to ask Helga a question about our history assignment. I fell asleep yesterday." Well, the second part's not a lie.
"Arnold!" Stella cried.
"Sorry. Can I go, though? It's starting to let up."
"Fine, but you'll be doing homework the second you get home."
"Right, Mom." He grabbed his coat, the phone, and his dad's credit card. "See you in a bit."
"Be careful of puddles!" Miles called after him.
¤˜¤˜¤
Big Bob's Beeper Emporium was truly an empire now, with large stores all over Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. However, as her father's business expanded, Arnold know Helga's loathing of him had increased, which was why Arnold was so confused as to why she worked there.
Helga was sitting behind one of the front counters with her feet propped up, reading The Jungle. "So you do work here."
"Ah!" Helga dropped her book and fell off the chair.
"Are you okay?" Arnold leaned over the counter to stare at her below.
"I'm fine." Helga spat, but her face was red. "Why are you here?"
Arnold placed the phone on the counter. "Dad dropped it in a puddle."
Helga made a face and picked up the phone. She began searching for the instruction manual and Miles's contracts.
"That and I need to talk to you."
"Really?" she asked, sounding completely uninterested.
"Why haven't you returned my calls?"
"Sorry. Look's like I wasn't interested in going out with you anymore," she said sarcastically.
"Helga."
"I was out late last night at the movies with Mick, and I've been here all morning. I haven't had time." She banged the phone several times on the counter. "You filled up the tape in my machine again."
Arnold winced at the phone torture. "Sorry."
"It's okay. Not like I want any more messages anyways."
"Don't you want to know how my date with Lila went?"
"Not really. Look, the phone's dead, and your dad doesn't have the insurance plan thingy where you pay five bucks a month and you are guaranteed a free replacement phone when you break it, or whatever, so you're going to have to pay for a new one."
Arnold leaned on the counter. "Do I get the same discount my parents did?"
She looked up at him, startled. "Why, do you think you should?"
"Why'd you give it to them?"
"Because I felt like it." She returned to the paper work.
"Helga." He was not about to let her get away with not giving him any answers.
"Okay, my dad jacks up the prices here like you wouldn't believe, and because he makes me work here, I give discounts sometimes to descent people to piss him off."
Arnold was confused. "So you do this often?"
"No, actually, I've only done it once."
Arnold was taken aback. "Why my parents?"
She finally looked back at him. "I don't know. Maybe I said some shit to you that day and I felt bad. What does it matter?" Her eyes narrowed. "I didn't do it for you, if that's what you're fishin' for."
"Of course not," he said quietly.
She sighed. "Look, I'll give you the twenty percent that I gave your parents, and I'll sign them up for the insurance thing that why if your dad breaks it again, it'll be a hell of a lot cheaper."
"Wow. Thanks."
She shoved the contracts at him and put the new phone in a bag. "Whatever will get you outta here."
Arnold smiled as he signed the papers. "Thanks for the tickets."
"I'm glad somebody could use them."
"You really don't want to know how it went?"
Helga rolled her eyes. "If it will keep you from wetting yourself, do tell."
"It was horrible."
"WHAT?"
"We fought the whole time. It was one of the worst experiences of my life."
"Well, you're taking it well, all things considered. What are you going to do now?"
Arnold smiled brightly. "Ask you to help me plan our next date." He handed her his dad's credit card.
"I thought it went horribly."
"Oh, it did, but it ended nicely."
"Oh, did it?" Helga asked coldly.
"What?"
Helga shoved a pen and the slip at him. "You know, you're one of the few boys I would think could be ruled by his brain instead of his dick. Gerald, of course, we've already seen that; Corbin, possibly; but you? I thought you were above that."
He handed her the signed paper. "Says the girl who once made out with Cory for a good three hours at the American Rival last fall."
"Ew! Okay, that was only because the band sucked, and we were completely bored."
"Was that the only thing that sucked that night?"
Her face turned bright red, and Arnold could practically see the smoke coming out of her ears. "Do you want the rest of your face to look like your chin?"
"Relax, Helga. Remember our agreement? No physical abuse." He smiled at her. "Besides, I know you wouldn't do that. You hold yourself higher than that."
She stared at him, but Arnold was not able to read her. "I'll be thinking of something," she said finally.
"Thanks." He reached for the bag at the same time she did, and his hand clasped hers. They stood there for a moment before Helga pulled her hand back as if she had been burned. Arnold cleared his throat and grabbed the bag. "Well, I should get going."
"Yep." She put the papers away and picked up her book. "See you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?"
She raised her eyebrows. "We have practice."
"Oh, right."
"Good-bye, Arnold."
Arnold? He watched her as she read, but she avoided his gaze. "Good-bye, Helga."
She waved without looking up as he left. He walked out into the rain and looked up at the gray sky. Helga was continuing to surprise him, but what surprised him the most was that when he held her hand, he did not want to let go.
A/N: The New Year is almost here! (and Happy New Year to those who are in countries where it's already Jan. 1 or are reading this after today). I'll have to come up with some New Year's resolutions that I'll drop in two weeks. And I get to go back to school. As proof that life sucks, I hate break even more than school (and if you've actually read these things and my profile, you should know I hate school with a passion). Oh well. My one-year anniversary of being a registered ff.net member is Saturday (as if anyone cares). Yea for me! Later days.