Deceit, Treachery, and Lies - Part 1
disclaimer - I don't own Hey Arnold!
notes - Wrote this back when the movie came out and I was on my HA! kick. Enjoy!
Pain...major headache...lots of bright lights...WAY too bright...
These were some of the things that flitted through Helga G. Pataki's mind one morning as she reluctantly awoke to an incessant poking in her left shoulder. She groaned, snuggling deeper into the bed she was in, mumbling something about "just five more minutes." The poking only came more rapidly, until Helga finally growled and opened her eyes a bit. She winced at the brightness of the room, even though it was only dimly lit by the sun coming in through the window. Again, Helga tried burying her face deeper into her pillow, only to find that it wasn't near as soft as it was supposed to be.
This new bit of information caused Helga to freeze, and she turned her head slowly up to meet the face of whoever had been poking her. One of his hands was still resting on her left shoulder; he had the other pressed against his forehead, as if to ward off a headache. His eyes were squeezed closed, and Helga had the very distinct impression that he felt as bad as she did.
"Would you mind getting off of me?" Arnold mumbled, the words barely recognizable as he slurred them all together. Helga's eyes widened and for a second, she couldn't move. Then she slowly began to lift herself off of the football-headed boy below her without removing her eyes from his face. She couldn't tell if he knew exactly WHO it was on top of him, and she would prefer to make it out of there while he was still preoccupied with his headache.
In the middle of moving one of her legs across his body in order to get off the bed, she paused and glanced down in confusion. A gasp escaped her as she abruptly dropped herself back onto Arnold, causing him to let out a small whoosh of air, and pulled the blankets up to tuck them in snuggly around her body. He finally removed the hand from his head when he heard the sound of naked flesh hitting naked flesh, and opened his eyes wearily.
'Okay, so apparently he DIDN'T know who it was,' Helga thought briefly as Arnold did a perfect impression of a fish out of water.
His eyes were wide and his mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally managed to gasp out a strangled, "Helga!" Helga allowed a lazy smirk to cross her face as she propped elbows up on either side of Arnold's stomach and rested her chin in her hands.
"How's it goin', football-head?" she asked casually, completely hiding the raging sea of emotion she was feeling inside. Arnold stared at her for a minute before his eyes darted to the side, taking in the room they were in. He didn't recognize it. His eyes returned to Helga's face, barely noting that she was still staring at him expectantly, before they lowered a little, bringing a bright blush to his face. "Ahem," Helga coughed out, none too politely, bringing Arnold's gaze back up to her own. "I do believe my face is up here," she said sarcastically, also turning a light shade of pink. Arnold blinked.
"Could...could you get off me please?" he nervously squeaked out, almost in a whisper. Helga narrowed her eyes and sat up quickly, pulling the sheet with her so she could wrap it around herself. She hurriedly got off the bed, and began looking around the room in a panicked attempt to find something that might tell her what had happened...besides the obvious, that is. Behind her, Arnold frantically grabbed for the leftover blanket on the bed, pulling it up so that it rested across his lap as he sat up. Almost despairingly, he groaned and held his head in his hands, glancing around the room every so often. Helga ignored him as she spotted something in the corner of the room. It was pink, and it was vaguely familiar. Warily, she headed over to it and gingerly picked it up, spreading the material out in her hands. She groaned once she realized what it was.
'Typical morning-after prom scene,' she grumbled in her head, hardly believing what was going on. She looked down at what was in her hands again and sighed. It had been a beautiful dress only yesterday...now it was ripped and torn in more places than Helga wanted to know. Gradually, her stare turned into a glare. In any case, the two of them had certainly been in a hurry.
Helga turned to Arnold, gripping her ruined prom dress in her hands. Tears were starting to well in her already angered eyes as she stared at the boy who was still glancing around the room bewilderedly. She couldn't believe what had happened. Your first time was supposed to be special! Of course, looking on the bright side, at least it was with the one person she had always WANTED to lose her virginity too. But however infatuated with him she may have been, Helga was FAR from the optimist Arnold was. Who cared if he was her first, what did it matter if she couldn't even REMEMBER it! Just as she opened her mouth to say something, someone knocked on the door. She glanced at it for a minute, trying to decide whether or not she should answer, and finally decided she should as the knocking got louder.
"No- Helga! What're you doing?" Arnold hissed, about ready to jump out of the bed in an attempt to stop her.
"Calm down, Arnoldo, I won't tell anyone you're in here," Helga replied sarcastically. She opened the door a crack, peeking out to see who was there.
"Helga? YOU were in there?" Helga blinked. Rhonda! What the...?
"Rhonda, where are we exactly?" she asked after second or so of tense silence, ignoring the shocked look on Rhonda's face. She hugged the sheet closer to her body as a chill briefly went through her.
"You-you're at my house," Rhonda finally replied, shaking off her shock. "Remember? No, I guess you probably don't remember anything. I'm having a hard time myself." She briefly shut her eyes and pressed her palm to her forehead before she continued. "My parents are in the Bahamas for the week, so I decided to throw an after-prom party for us." Helga nodded, suddenly remembering the invitation she had gotten and all the plans that had been made. "So..." Rhonda tried to look over Helga's should as she spoke. "Who's in there with you?"
"No one," Helga answered quickly, shutting the door an inch more. She could see Arnold out of the corner of her eye searching for any clothes of his that had been thrown carelessly around the room. Rhonda nodded skeptically.
"Uh-huh, right," she replied, glancing down at her nails. "Ok, Helga, here's the deal. There're only three people who could be in there with you. Curly...Eugene...and Arnold. And unless you were COMPLETELY trashed last night, I highly doubt it was one of the first two." Helga shrugged.
"Well, princess, you never know." She paused, ignoring Rhonda's doubting stare, before asking, "And why could it only be those three?"
"Because I've already found pretty much everyone else." Helga raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, you would think that you would at least have the decency to do it with your date," Rhonda said, sighing at the end. Helga blinked. Crap! Rhonda smiled smugly and crossed her arms.
"We didn't DO anything," Helga finally growled out.
"And THAT'S why you're wrapped in a sheet." Helga blushed.
"I got hot," she said defensively.
"Right," Rhonda snorted.
"So...um, where IS Stinky?" Helga asked after a second or so.
"Oh, don't worry about him, he was just as trashed as you. I believe he's bent over a toilet somewhere right now," Rhonda answered, leaning against the wall.
"Who the hell brought so much alcohol?" Helga muttered, rubbing her forehead wearily. Back in the room, Arnold had given up on finding his shirt and was sitting on the bed in his black pants, waiting for Helga to finish talking.
"Your date, and his two sidekicks."
"Oh, right, I should have know. Neither Stinky, Sid, NOR Harold can ever think on their own."
"Got that right," Rhonda said, chuckling a little.
"So where'd you find everyone else?" Helga asked, adjusting the sheet around her. Rhonda looked thoughtful for a moment, as if trying to remember.
"Hmm...well, Lila and Nadine were, and still are, downstairs playing chess and Brainy's watching them. I don't think they drank anything. Harold and Patty were in MY room, eww... Uh, let's see..." She paused. "I found Sid and Stinky collapsed on a pool table, Iggy was under it. I haven't found Lorenzo or Sheena yet, but I know they're together somewhere. Phoebe and Gerald are in the room across the hall," she jutted a thumb over her shoulder while Helga's head snapped up at that, her eyes wide. "And then like I said, I have no idea where Curly and Eugene are."
"Or Arnold," Helga mumbled. Rhonda smirked.
"Oh right, and I have NO idea where Arnold could POSSIBLY be," she said sarcastically, raising her voice a little. In the room, Arnold flopped over sideways onto the bed and buried his face into his hands, muffling a groan.
"Did you say Geraldo and Phoebe were in that room?" Helga asked, pointing across the hallway. "I didn't think Pheebs drank alcohol."
"She doesn't," Rhonda said, glancing towards the said room. "From what I remember, which isn't much, but I didn't drink as much as you, you and Gerald had a drinking contest. I have no idea who won. Phoebe was taking care of him and stayed the night in the room. I can assure you though, they're both fully dressed."
"Hmm, I can't say the same for me though, can I?" Helga mused. "Do you have anything I can wear, Rhonda? My dress is a little ruined..."
"You're asking ME for clothes?" Rhonda asked, feigning surprise.
"Yeah, yeah princess, don't get me anything too disgusting."
"Here," Rhonda said, thrusting a pile of clothes into a startled Helga's hands. She blinked.
"That was fast, I didn't even see you leave," she said sarcastically. Rhonda shrugged.
"I was carrying around sets of clothing because I had no idea what I would find," she answered simply.
"Hey, I didn't ask for an explanation!"
"Ugh, you're WELCOME, Helga." The two girls shared a brief smile before Rhonda headed off down the hall and Helga returned to the confines of her room. She turned around to find Arnold glaring at her from his curled up position.
"What?" she asked warily. He didn't reply. "Um, helloooo? I didn't tell her anything, it's not my fault she guessed." He still didn't say anything for a while.
"Uuugh, I feel like I'm gonna throw up," Arnold finally spoke up, turning to lay flat on his back and stare up at the ceiling.
"Yeah, well, do it over there, would ya?" Helga asked, dropping the sheet as she quickly tried to get dressed. Arnold glanced over at her and nearly fell off the back of the bed as he sat up and recoiled in shock.
"Helga! What're you doing!" he practically yelled, unable to turn away. Instead he did his best to keep his eyes on her face. Helga looked at him.
"What's it look like I'm doing, football-head? I'm getting dressed."
"Did you NOT notice that I was in the room!" Helga sighed.
"What does it matter!" she yelled back. "You've obviously seen it all before!" Arnold had no reply to this and grudgingly shut his mouth as a blush worked its way to his cheeks.
"Do...do you think we really...?" He let the sentence trail off as he finally turned away from Helga. She finished dressing before she answered.
"Dunno...anything's possible I suppose. We may never know for sure," she said, plopping down a few feet away from Arnold.
"Why do you say that?" Helga shifted uncomfortably.
"Well...if in about two weeks time, I get that thing that for the first time in my life I will actually be HAPPY to have, then we'll never really find out. If I skip it...I mean, it takes two to tango before a baby comes along," she said, almost casually, as she shrugged. Arnold's head snapped around to meet her gaze, his eyes wide.
"B-baby!" he sputtered, looking horribly nervous all of a sudden. "No...no, Helga, no way!"
"Look, Arnoldo," Helga bit out. "It's NOT my fault. And I didn't say I WAS pregnant, I just said it was a possibility! Crimeny!"
"Helga," Arnold said, suddenly very serious. "It can't BE a possibility. If you're pregnant... I have plans for college, Helga, and so do you! We are WAY too young for this!"
"Do you think I don't know that!" Helga shouted, tears coming to her eyes again. She stood up abruptly, facing Arnold. "If I AM pregnant, I never said you had to stick around. That's where you GUYS are so lucky. You can always run away when something like this happens. The girl, however, has to make changes! In my case, it might mean giving UP college! I wouldn't have time for it, and I would never have an abortion to MAKE time for it! It's not a child's fault that it was created because its parents were so drunk they couldn't see straight!" she shouted out, barely noticing how much her voice had risen. It was all she could do not to let the water in her eyes overflow.
It took Arnold a while to reply, but when he did, he whispered sincerely, "I would NEVER run away, Helga. You know that." He held Helga's gaze for a while before she broke it, wiping her eyes.
"I know," she whispered back, sullenly. "Which is why I'm worried. It would ruin all your plans, Arnold." She sat down next to him again, closer this time. He wrapped an arm around her, almost awkwardly.
"Oh, and YOU'VE been planning this?" Helga took a second to answer, and she tried not to stutter when she did. After all, it DID seem like something she might have planned, back in middle school...
"It's different with me, I didn't have any great future ahead of me."
"I didn't either." Helga rested her head on Arnold's shoulder, and they were silent for a moment before she chuckled.
"Well, isn't this a great way to catch up?" Arnold smirked.
"It has been a while since we last spoke to each other, hasn't it?"
"Spoke to each other? No, not too long. Had an actual conversation? Not since about sophomore year."
"Too long..." Arnold muttered, rubbing his hand in circles on Helga's back.
"Why do we sound so depressed?" Helga asked, sitting up suddenly. "We don't even know what we DID last night."
"I would think that was obvious," Arnold replied, raising an eyebrow.
"No...I mean, aren't you supposed to be...I dunno, sore or SOMETHING after your first ti-" She cut herself off abruptly, realizing she'd said to much. Her eyes slid to the side to glance at Arnold, noticing he was smiling.
"Well at least I know I wasn't the only one," he said, looking towards the ceiling. Helga let out a relieved breath.
"In any case... Hey, who did you take to prom?" Helga asked. Arnold squinted his eyes a bit.
"Uh...oh, that's right. No one." Helga blinked.
"NO one? Why not?" Arnold shrugged.
"What can I say? You went with...Stinky, right?" Helga groaned and nodded. "How did THAT happen?"
"I don't know," Helga replied, shaking her head. "He heard I didn't have a date about three days ago, so he offered to take me. I figured it was a free ticket in, if anything. Plus, Stinky's not all that bad. He's somewhat entertaining. I had fun...I think...I mean, from what I can REMEMBER..." Arnold laughed.
"I know what you mean. Did Phoebe go with anyone?" Helga shook her head.
"Nope, but she's with hair-boy right now."
"Gerald?"
"Yup."
"...Oh that's right, Rhonda told you."
"Who'd he go with?"
"Uh...some girl I don't know. I don't know what happened to her. I mean, she obviously isn't HERE."
"Yeah well," Helga chuckled. "This was a 'P.S. 118 Only' party." Arnold nodded.
"Oh yeah..."
"Well," Helga said, standing up and gathering her ruined dress in her arms, "I'm gonna head downstairs. Come down in a few, k? Unless you want people to start talking about us." Arnold nodded, a slightly put out look on his face.
"Sure. I'll see ya later, ok?"
"Not if I can help it," Helga replied, smirking. She headed out the door before he could say anything.
& & & &
Less than two days later, Helga stood in her own bedroom, staring forlornly at herself in the mirror. She had debated on actually waiting for her period to come, but for once it seemed TOO far way. So instead she had gone out and bought a pregnancy test, without telling Arnold, of course. Now, as she stared down at it, she was terribly depressed, but for all the wrong reasons.
It came out negative.
She wasn't pregnant.
So why wasn't she happy?
It didn't take long to figure out the answer. She had WANTED to have Arnold's baby. He would have stayed with her, he even SAID so! She could have had a family with him. Granted, they wouldn't have been a very HAPPY family, but they would have been bound together in a sense. Now though, they could each go their own, separate ways.
Unless...
Helga glanced up sharply, staring at her reflection again as a plan began to form in her head. Arnold would never know she WASN'T pregnant unless she told him so. Well in THAT case, she would just have to tell him that she WAS pregnant.
Helga smirked. It would take a while before it got to the point where she couldn't fake it anymore, and by then...why, by then Arnold might even love her back! Helga had never really gotten over that childhood crush of hers; it had only grown as the years progressed. Now was her chance to make the feeling mutual.
Oh yes, the day was certainly looking better.
& & & &
Three weeks after that (and about two weeks after they had graduated), Helga was standing uncertainly on the sidewalk in font of the boarding house where Arnold was still living. She'd been having some internal moral debates over whether she should actually go through with this. The way she figured it, she had two choices:
Ruin Arnold's life by making him forgo his college plans...
Or ruin her own life, by letting him off the hook and probably never seeing him again.
So, ruin Arnold's life...or ruin her own life...Arnold's life...HER life...
There wasn't much competition, unfortunately. And though the more sensible side of her kept repeating over and over again how utterly WRONG this was, she completely ignored it.
With that decision in mind, Helga stepped up the stairs and knocked somewhat timidly on the door. She stepped to the side while she waited for someone to answer, out of the way of the barrage of animals that she knew would run past. The door opened and Helga briefly saw Arnold calling over his shoulder to his grandparents (yes, they were still alive. According to Grandpa though, he only had a year left, as he would supposedly die of the "family curse" when he turned 91).
"I'm going out Grandpa! I'll be back for dinner!"
"Okay, short-man!" came the reply as Arnold shut the door.
"You're early, Gerald," Arnold got out before he finally glanced up to see who was actually standing on his porch. "Helga?" Helga smirked.
"I didn't know Geraldo and I had so much in common," she said, somewhat teasingly. She was planning on actually being a little nice to him. Arnold scratched his head sheepishly.
"Sorry 'bout that. It's just that I was supposed to meet him..." He trailed off, his eyes running up and down Helga's form. She was dressed in a short, jean skirt with a form-fitting black tank top. Over that she had on a matching jean jacket. She was wearing black platforms that added about two inches to her height, though she was still a little shorter than the boy staring at her, and her hair fell in natural cascades to just below her shoulders. "You look nice, special occasion?" he teased, though his eyes had taken on a worried look. Helga bit down a smile. Oh yes, he knew why she was there.
"Depends on your point-of-view," she said quietly, not smiling at all. Arnold's grin dimmed, and he unconsciously tightened his grip on the doorknob, which he was still holding. 'Ok, Helga, this is it. Let's see how good an actress you REALLY are,' she thought as she lifted her eyes to meet Arnold's. "Do you think finding out you're going to be a father is a special occasion?" Arnold paled, and he backed up a step. He probably would have backed up further, but the door behind him wouldn't allow him to do so.
"Shit..." he muttered, looking everywhere but at Helga, and blinking rapidly. It was easy to tell that a million things were running through his head. Well, actually only one continuously repeated word was running through his head... 'Shit, shit, shit, shit...' Arnold thought in despair. "I...I need to lay down," he moaned out.
"Wonderful, I'll go with you!" Helga said, faking cheerfulness. It didn't help.
"Ugh, not now, Helga, please." Arnold stumbled over to the stairs and sat down heavily, holding his head in his hands. Helga watched him worriedly, wondering if this was really such a good idea. Silently she walked over to him and sat down.
"Hey," she said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder, "if we can get through saving the neighborhood together, we can get through everything together, right?" Arnold just sighed heavily in response. Helga sat silently for a minute, rubbing his back as he continued to think.
"Well...there goes college," he said eventually, lifting his head and looking out over the street. Helga's heart clenched, but she held firm in the decision she'd made.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. He blinked suddenly, turning to face her.
"I'm such a jack-ass," he said quickly, eyes full of concern. "I didn't even think about how you were dealing with this. Are you ok?" Helga sniffed, her eyes actually welling with tears. What was she doing? Was she REALLY going to trick him like this!
Yep.
"I'm fine," she replied shakily. "Arnold, really, you don't have to stay. You can still go to college. I...we'll be here when you graduate." She almost wanted him to go, so she could pretend she'd had a miscarriage or something. She couldn't believe she was actually going through with the plan. Arnold shook his head.
"No...no, it's half my fault. I'm staying. God, what will my grandparents say?" he moaned. Helga looked out at the street.
"You know, football-head, I'm not as upset as I thought I would be. I mean, if it had to be anyone," she said quickly, before shrugging. "You're not the worst possible choice." Arnold smirked ruefully.
"Thanks...I think. You know, I'm still trying to figure out how you and I ended up together. It's kind of weird, especially since we haven't really talked in such a long time." Helga shrugged.
"Maybe it was fate?" she suggested, chuckling a little.
"Yeah...maybe," Arnold said softly, looking thoughtful. Before either one of them could speak again, Gerald came waltzing down the sidewalk towards Arnold's house.
"Hey Arnold!" he called out. "You ready to- Helga!" He paused at the bottom of the steps, noticing how close the two were to each other. "Well how are you doing, Ms. Helga G. Pataki?" Helga smirked.
"Just fine, Geraldo, you?" she asked.
"Peachy keen!" came the reply, before he scratched his head. "I haven't talked to you in a while."
"We just had a drinking competition against each other three weeks ago," Helga pointed out. Gerald blinked.
"We did? I don't remember..."
"Yeah well, me neither," Helga said, laughing a bit. "That's what Rhonda told me."
"Oh! After prom! Ok, I see. Um...Arnold, can I speak with you for a minute?" Gerald asked before leading the said boy away without waiting for an answer.
"What is it Gerald?" Arnold asked.
"Why exactly are you hanging out with HELGA? Not that it matters anymore, I'm just curious." To his surprise, Arnold blushed a little.
"I'll tell you later," he mumbled, casting a glance back towards the other blonde. She was watching them expectantly. Gerald shrugged.
"Whatever, man. Just promise me that we'll have a looooong talk before we each head off to college, ok?" Arnold sighed.
"I don't think I'm GOING to college anymore, Gerald." There was a pause.
"What?" Gerald asked, as if he hadn't heard him correctly.
"Again, I'll tell you later." Gerald just stared at him for a minute before turning to face Helga as well.
"Well, since you're here, how about we find Phoebe or something and go grab a burger?" Helga chuckled.
"Sounds good to me, hair-boy," she said, standing up. Gerald glared at her playfully.
"Madam fortress mummy," he said teasingly.
"That's Harold's line, bucko, come up with your own," Helga said, pointing at him. Gerald laughed and led the way down the street.
& & & &
The three had found Phoebe at her house, already packing for college. After convincing her that she had PLENTY of time before she left, the four headed off to a local burger joint. As they sat around the table together, both Phoebe and Gerald vaguely noticed that they were the only two making conversation. There seemed to a tense silence surrounding their other two friends. After a full minute's pause in the conversation that neither Arnold nor Helga seemed to notice, Phoebe glanced to the side, catching Gerald's gaze. She gestured with her head to the two blondes who were sitting next to each other on the opposite side of the booth, and sent Gerald a questioning look. In return, he shrugged. He turned to stare at Arnold for a long minute, before finally breaking the silence.
"Aren't you going to eat all that, man? You've barely touched your burger." Arnold glanced up sharply.
"Huh? Oh, no, I'm not really hungry. You want it, Gerald?" Gerald raised an eyebrow, but nodded eagerly.
"Well, we can't let good food go to waste, now can we?" he asked cheerfully before digging into the uneaten food. Helga pushed her plate towards him as well.
"Here, hair-boy, you can have mine as well."
"No, Helga, you need to eat it," Arnold said, pushing the plate back to her. Helga stared at him oddly.
"I said I'm not hungry, football-head. I don't think I stuttered."
"And I don't think I did either. You need to eat it," he replied firmly. "You need it for...energy," he went on, carefully skirting around the real reason. Helga glared at him a little longer before releasing a sigh.
"Fine," she muttered. She picked up a fry, and nibbled on the end, but that seemed to satisfy the blonde beside her. Gerald and Phoebe watched this whole seen with interest.
"Ok, that's it," Gerald said, putting down his burger. He crossed his arms and sent the two a hard look. "Spill it." They both stared back at him in wide-eyed innocence.
"Spill what?" Arnold asked.
"Come on you two, we're your best friends!" Phoebe finally said. "Tell us what's going on, please..." Beneath the table, Arnold's hand sought out Helga's. He gave it a squeeze, causing her to glance at him before returning it. Arnold took that as her permission to tell their friends what exactly was going on.
"Um...well you see...Helga and I...we, well we're...we're getting married," he finally got out. The effect was immediate. Gerald, who'd been sipping thoughtfully on his coke, promptly choked on it and started sputtering. Phoebe dropped her burger back onto the plate, her eyes wide, and even Helga whipped her head around to stare at him in shock. Arnold blushed. "That WASN'T what I meant to say..." he muttered, releasing Helga's hand and using it to rub his eyes wearily.
"Getting MARRIED!" Gerald practically shouted when he was finally able to speak again.
"Yeah, Arnold, what's this about us getting MARRIED?" Helga asked, though not unkindly. Arnold glanced at her.
"I didn't mean to say that, but I think we should," he said. Helga blinked.
"WHY?" she asked, disbelievingly. Arnold shrugged.
"Just...because. I mean, it would only be right." Helga's heart fluttered slightly, but she kept her cool.
"Arnold, getting married isn't going to fix anything," she said softly.
"But it would help!" he replied, turning to face her fully. "Helga, I know what it's like to be an orphan. No child of MINE is going to grow up without BOTH of its parents." That did it.
"CHILD!" both Phoebe and Gerald sputtered out. Phoebe stood up abruptly and slammed her hands onto the table.
"Helga, Arnold, just WHAT is going on here!" she asked frantically, eyeing the two. Helga mentally cringed.
"Pheebs...I'm pregnant," she whispered. Phoebe's eyes widened, and she made a disbelieving sound.
"Pregnant?" she repeated vaguely, falling back into her seat. "Pregnant..."
"How the hell did THAT happen!" Gerald questioned angrily. "And why didn't you tell me?" That was directed at Arnold.
"I just found out today, Gerald," Arnold replied, narrowing his eyes. "And it happened at Rhonda's."
"After prom?" Phoebe asked meekly. The two in question nodded. "Maybe...maybe we should take this outside," Phoebe said suddenly, noticing that they were attracting some nosy eavesdroppers. The four stood up, and after paying for their meal, headed outside and down to the park.
"Pregnant..." Gerald muttered when they were well into the park. He turned around so that he was walking backwards, and smiled widely at Arnold. "Crap, man, you're gonna be a dad!"
"Gerald!" Phoebe admonished, as Arnold slowed down a bit, his eyes wide. Gerald held up his hands.
"What? You'd think he would have figured that part out..."
"Yeah, well, it just hit me," Arnold said breathlessly. "A dad...whoa...I don't know how to be a DAD! I've never even had one!"
"Stop panicking," Helga told him, grabbing his hand as they continued walking. "You'll be a great father."
"You're grandfather was a wonderful fatherly figure," Phoebe pointed out quietly.
"Have you told them yet?" Gerald asked, crossing his arms behind his head as he continued to walk backwards.
"No, you two were the first we told," Arnold replied, stuffing one of his hands into the pocket of his jeans. The other was still holding Helga's.
"And the last," Helga said, rubbing the back of her neck. Arnold slowed to a stop, pulling Helga with him since they were holding hands.
"Why?" he asked, searching her eyes for an answer. Gerald and Phoebe stood awkwardly off to the side, glancing at one another.
"Arnold," Helga sighed, "I don't want my parents to find out. And it probably wouldn't do any good if YOUR grandparents found out, either."
"But I have to have a reason for not going to college." Helga shrugged.
"I...I guess you could tell them. It's up to you." Arnold nodded.
"And I think you should tell your parents too." Helga's head snapped up.
"Hell no! My parents will NOT be finding out until I can bring the baby home for them to see," she said firmly, shaking her head vehemently. Arnold sighed.
"I'll only agree to that if you agree to marry me." Helga blinked. He REALLY didn't need to bribe her to get her to marry him; she would have done it in a split second.
"Fine," she bit out, trying to sound a little angry at the idea. She released Arnold's hand and crossed her arms, turning to the side slightly. To his surprise, Arnold felt very relieved...and somewhat happy.
"Great," he said, smiling widely. "Let's do it now. We can elope! Gerald and Phoebe can be our witnesses!" Helga snapped her head back to look at him.
"NOW?" she asked. Arnold nodded excitedly.
"Yes, now. We don't have to tell anyone, and you can stay with me at the boarding house. C'mon, Helga! Let's do it!"
"Arnold, marriage isn't something that you just DO," Phoebe said gently, stepping up to the pair.
"Yeah, honestly, football-head, where'd your common sense go?" Arnold shook his head.
"If we don't do it now, I won't have the courage to do it later. Helga, we're going to be raising a baby together, we might as well go all the way." Helga didn't think she could have felt any lighter at that moment, and she couldn't help the crazy, lovesick smile that spread across her face.
"Alright then," she said. "But only if you promise me that one day we'll have a real wedding. In a few years or something, after I get used to the whole idea of us being stuck together for the rest of lives."
"Deal," Arnold replied, grabbing Helga's hand and shaking it. "Depending on whether you have a boy a girl, it could probably be the ring barer or a flower girl or something." Helga half closed her eyes, smiling lazily.
"Yeah," she sighed, rubbing a hand across her stomach. Arnold wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they started off down the path again, when it slammed back into Helga. She wasn't HAVING a baby. Her smile faltered a bit. Damn...
"A father and a husband in the same day," Gerald muttered, shaking his head as they walked along. "You're a bold kid, Arnold, a bold kid."
& & & &
When Arnold brought Helga, his new wife, home with him that evening, his grandparents and the rest of the boarders were a little shocked, needless to say. Helga had a suitcase with her with most of her personal items and some clothes, and couldn't wipe the smile off of her face for the life of her. It was almost too much for her. She had dreamed of this day since she was three years old.
She was married, to ARNOLD.
It was crazy.
It was insane.
It was perfect. Helga had never been any happier.
Arnold briefly explained to his grandparents that Helga would be staying with him for a while. He didn't say anything about a baby coming or her being his wife all of a sudden. They thankfully didn't ask many questions. They just simply said, "Well, your 18 and on your way to college, you must know what your doing..." He'd cringed a bit at the college part, but hadn't said anything. He'd cross that bridge at a later time. It wasn't until they were settled in Arnold's room that the first bit of awkwardness came about.
"Are you sure your parents won't care that you're here?" Arnold asked, straddling the chair in front of his computer as he faced Helga. She shrugged.
"They won't notice I'm gone, trust me."
"Even when you're not there for dinner?"
"Arnold, we haven't had a family dinner since I entered high school," Helga said, almost glumly, as she sat down on Arnold's bed (it'd been changed to a queen size bed as he got older). She wasn't very fond of her family, but it always hurt a little that they still never seemed to care. Arnold got up and walked over to the bed. He sat down next to her, carefully pulling her into his lap.
"I'm sorry," he said gently, resting his chin in the crook of Helga's neck. She was suddenly afraid that her heart would burst from her chest, it was beating so rapidly. She gradually leaned back into him, relaxing a bit. Arnold tightened his grip around her waist as Helga turned her face slightly to look at his face. It got very quiet. "It's been a long day," Arnold said after a minute. "We should probably get some sleep. Especially you, Ms. Soon-to-be-mom." He smiled teasingly.
"Well then same to you, Mr. Soon-to-be-dad," Helga shot right back at him.
"Touché," Arnold replied, smirking lightly. He stared at her a moment before speaking again. "You're beautiful, Helga," he whispered, looking into her eyes. A slight blush graced Helga's cheeks as he continued. "I never really took the time to notice before."
"Yeah well," Helga turned her head forward again, "I never gave you reason to look at me."
"It didn't stop other people," Arnold said, pushing some hair behind her ears.
"Oh really?" Helga said, raising an eyebrow. Arnold nodded.
"I remember Sid saying once how you'd grown up to be a 'hottie.' And then Stinky agreed, saying you'd turned out 'downright purdy,'" he said, doing a bad imitation of Stinky. Helga grinned.
"And you said...?"
"I think I just got up to throw away my lunch tray," Arnold admitted sheepishly, but Helga just laughed.
"Oh, I deserved that," she said. Arnold kissed her cheek suddenly, and she quieted a bit.
"Come on, let's go to bed," Arnold said gently. Helga nodded.
"Am I sleeping on the couch?" she asked, standing up and stretching.
"No," Arnold replied, glancing at her. "We're both sleeping in the bed." Helga froze and looked at him. He smiled gently. "No wife of mine is sleeping on a couch." Helga chuckled.
Hours into the night, Helga still lay awake, staring at the handsome man next to her.
"Wife," she mumbled quietly to herself, being careful not to wake him. She turned onto her back and stared at the ceiling. "God, what am I going to do?"
Part 2's next.
-Maxine