Hey everyone! Thought I'd give you this chapter a little early. Remember, if you have any questions, feel free to ask them. You can also e-mail me (see profile for it) and even if you can't log in, you can find it at my website (Link also at my profile). Anyway, if things seem a little confusing, just hang on and wait a chapter or two and see if it doesn't clear up. Some times I do that...where I won't make something make sense. Enjoy Chapter 2!
I want to thank my 1st 4 reviewers, Dragon101, Carlin, Demile, and Flute-Player14!
Disclaimer: Need I say it again? If you honestly want to see the disclaimer again, go back to Chapter 1.
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Chapter 2 "Reaching Out and Remembering"----------------------------------------------------------
"Helga!" Shouted the raven haired, Japanese-American. Helga ignored her and continued walking as if in a trance. "Helga...can I talk to you?" She asked. Nope, nothing, Helga kept on walking. Well, not like she's going to talk anyway.
Gerald added in his own remark "This is pointless. Helga is never gonna talk. I bet she's afraid to. She's probably even scared of her own shadow. I bet..."
He was cut off. Helga instantly turned around and grabbed Gerald's shirt collar, lifted him up and slammed him, quite hard, against a nearby wall, raising her fist to strike. Phoebe quickly held on to Helga's left wrist, trying to keep Ol' Betsey from colliding with her boyfriend's skull. Even though that was impossible due to Helga's strength over Phoebe. Helga turned her head and glared and evil, hateful glare at Phoebe, warning her that she better let go. Phoebe looked as if she was pleading Helga to let go of Gerald. After a moment Helga reluctantly let go of Gerald and he landed on the ground with a thud. Gerald rubbed the soar area while Helga walked off alone and rather upset leaving Gerald on the ground rubbing his butt while Phoebe sighed and shook her head at her friend's temper. Then, she diverted her gaze to Gerald. She had a stern look on her face that Gerald knew all to well. To simply put it, Phoebe was quite upset...with both Gerald and Helga.
"Gerald...I thought you'd know better than to talk about her!" Yelled Phoebe
"I do, it's just...she aggravates me sometimes."
"How? She never says anything. And the only way she'll attack you is if you're talking about her, or get too close to her. Don't provoke her...you know that."
"She just does."
"Dude...you ok Gerald?" Asked Sid, obviously done making out with 'his girl'
"Yeah I'm ok."
"Good. Cause that was very stupid of you!"
"Gee Sid, you think?"
"Yes, of course I think."
"Yeah right! If you could think, then maybe you'd stop spiking the punch bowls at parties!"
"Hey, can't a guy get a little kick in his drink? Not my fault the host makes them so dull and tasteless."
"Even so, you really should stop! It could wind up being a disaster one day..."
"Yeah whatever man."
Gerald sighs at the incompetence of Sid. But he couldn't blame the guy. After all, Sid's home life hasn't been all that great lately. So, he blocks it out by drinking. Gerald and several others have been trying to help him and Stinky, who in turn also got a weird addiction to it, for a while now. Not only that, but to keep them from causing harm to others. Gerald bids his a-due and heads off with a still rather upset Phoebe. Gerald knew she'd be fine in a matter of minutes. Phoebe wasn't one to stay mad at him for too long.
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A few minutes later at the Pataki Residence, Helga is just getting home. Luckily she finds the place deserted. Well, she liked it when no one was home. Hearing Bob and Miriam yell about certain things was just down right annoying. And they weren't always necessarily yelling at each other. Sometimes it's at inanimate objects.
Instantly Helga heads up to her room and locks herself inside. 'Locking' is something she's always done, not necessarily to her door, but to her heart. The path to her heart was shut and locked, and no one seems to have the key. No one. And the way she figures, no one would ever find it either. Helga flops down on her bed, not bothering to change, before drifting off to sleep.
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-Helga's Dream-
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All seemed peaceful within the area. Trees, birds...nature. A 9-year old Helga stood alone in the middle of what appeared to be a jungle. Confused, she wondered where she was, how she got here, and why. After walking for a minute, something caught her attention. Well, she heard something that caught her attention.
"Arghaghaaha!" (Or a scream of pain/anguish) Came the voice form a distance
"What the?" asked a confused 9-year old Helga as she then hears sad moans in the distance. "Who's making that annoying noise? Urgh..." she said with annoyance. Helga pushes trough some bushes and freezes. What she saw instantly woke her up in a state of panic and shock...
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-End of Dream-
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Helga sits up breathing fiercely, socked by what she saw in her dreams.
'It can't be...it's...impossible! But, why him? Why him of all people appear in my dream? Get a grip on yourself...you care about no one, you hear?! No one!' She said mentally, trying to reassure herself that she didn't see what she thought she saw.
(A/N: Just so you know, we have no idea what 15-year old Helga sounds like. All of her thoughts are heard with her 9-year old voice. After all she hasn't said a word! Will she? Probably not...anyway on with the story.)
Suddenly the little pink phone next to her rung rather abruptly. She had the phone for years now, but for some reason or another didn't bother to get a new one; despite her sudden and major changes to everything in her life. Helga sighs and picks it up knowing its Phoebe, since she's the only one who would call. Or would dare to call her.
"Hey Helga. Look, I know you aren't going to talk to me, but I want to apologize for Gerald's remarks. He didn't mean to offend you. It's just, well, the way you've been acting for the part 5 years, I'm worried about you. You're my friend after all, and I'm here to help. Remember that. Well, anyway, I've got to go. Enjoy your break!" Came Phoebe's voice through the receiver, and she hangs up, knowing Helga isn't going to respond. Helga hung up her phone and stared at the pink and black bed sheet. She felt something...or that something was a miss. Something concerning him.
'No...it can't be. Alas, my feeble mind is deceiving me yet again. Wretched tormenting of my soul, I want to be free! Free of this blasted antagonizing dissatisfaction of my mis-bent youth. Pain is but virtue of the fallen. Has...no, I will not allowest myself to think that. Never, will I ever thinkest of that. I shant care about this dream or anyone else in reality! Never!' Helga thought to herself
Helga looks at her clock...1 AM. With a soft moan, she rolls over, throws the covers over her, and falls asleep. Or at least she tried to. Luckily she got to sleep without any disturbance. Usually her dreams have been keeping her up lately, and she was sick of it. Nonetheless the dreams subsided for the remainder of the night, or early morning since it was 1AM.
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Later that day (Saturday), everyone was playing baseball at Gerald field. It was
Wolfgang's Team vs. Gerald's team no surprise really.
Wolfgang yawns widely. "Well, let the slaughter begin!"
8 innings later, the score was 8-0, Wolfgang's team was winning yet again...still, no surprise there. (A/N: It would be a bore-fest if I wrote this inning by inning, or even if you were there actually watching it. And to think, this went on for several years now!)
"This really bites!" said Stinky
"Yeah." Sid added in
"We've been done losing for the past 5 years!"
"I know guys, but what can we do? We lost both our home run king and our coach. I never thought I'd say this, but I miss Helga being our coach. That girl may have been tough on us, but she always had us ready to win." The now team captain and coach, Gerald, said to everyone in the dug out.
"If not, then make the game really close." Phoebe stated.
Gerald and Phoebe look up in the bleachers where Helga sits, staring into nothingness yet again. Her blue eyes looked so cold and dull. And though Phoebe was the only one there who could tell, Helga's soul also looked dead. Phoebe thought she knew what was wrong with Helga, and why she became so cold and uncaring. But Helga was always unpredictable, and not talking to anyone didn't help either. Phoebe was the only one who could actually get near Helga, much less communicate in some way. For the first year and a half of not saying anything, Helga communicated through notes...though that was even rare. Also, she didn't even say much on the note either. But one note, 3 years ago, rendered Phoebe's hypothesis of Helga's actions useless. The note stated seemed unbelievable to Phoebe, but then again, quite possible. And she knew that Helga's decision wasn't easy, or fulfilling. And she knew it had to be heartbreaking as well, but maybe Helga's life would of gotten a little better. Nope. That wasn't true at all. Her life got worse. And Phoebe still questions the note even to this day.
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-Flashback-
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A dark and stormy night plagued the city this Christmas Eve night. Snow pounded against windows and roofs. In the darkness of a room sat a lonely, heart-broken 12 year old by the name of Helga Pataki. It's been 2 years since the love of her life left the city. She never got a real response to her confession a little over 2 1/2 years ago. And that deeply hurt her. Tonight, however, she wanted to end all the pain and suffering. Sitting at a small desk in her room, with only a lone candle lighting the room, Helga was writing in her diary. Tears streaming slowly down her face. Then, shutting her diary, she takes out a sheet of notebook paper and pauses a moment to think. Sighing miserably, she takes out her most precious item she carried with her...her locket. Even in the dim light the picture was clearly visible. Taking a long hard look at her locket, Helga picks up her purple pen and begins to write a letter to Phoebe. When she signed her name at the bottom, Helga clutches her pen in one hand and gazes at her locket in the other hand. She looked into the eyes of the person in the picture. And it was then that Helga completely broke down crying, clutching her locket so hard that her knuckles turned white, and all the while scowling to herself. She cried herself to sleep. Hoping, wanting, and wishing the heartbreak would subside...
While she was sleeping, Helga accidentally knocks her diary off the desk, and to the floor. It landed, opened to her most recent entry. It read:
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December 24th
Hey Bucko, it's been a while huh? Not like anything good ever happens in my life anyway. Whatever.
It seems only yesterday since I last wrote a poem within these hallowed pages. How I wish things were the way they used to be. But alas they aren't. All my wishes are useless. I never get anything I want, and believe me, I don't ask for much. (Sigh) I guess I'm stalling to write what I really came to write. It's time. It's time I ended my obsession over...it's just too painful to mention his name. I've tried to get him to love or even like me for 9 years now. And where has it gotten me? Nowhere. Just 9 years of pain and heartbreak. Especially after he left 2 years ago. But now all that is going to change. I will no longer care for him. I will no longer love him. May this blasted obsession end! It'll be hard, yes, but I will get through this. I will move on. And so, I close this entry, and probably my last entry for a while. No longer, in love.
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The next morning of school (January 4th), Phoebe anxiously awaits the arrival of her best friend Helga. She sat in her usual seat towards the mid-front section of the bus. Slowly the bus came to a halt and on stepped the terror of the town, Helga Pataki. Phoebe smiles, in all hopes of getting Helga in a better mood than she's usually in, but Helga merely walks right past her. Phoebe was shocked. Helga always sat with her. It was then Phoebe notices a folded piece of paper next to her on the seat. She picks it up and opens it.
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Dear Phoebe,
Don't be upset that I'm not sitting next to you today. I just need time alone. I made the most difficult decision of my life thus far. Phoebe, it's time I faced the facts. It's time I faced reality. It's time I ended it. It's over...my obsession is over. I'm over him Phoebe. It's time I moved on. My life needs to go on. Still, I feel as though every feeling has been cut from my body. Every happy feeling that is. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you. But no longer will you have to worry. I want you to be happy and enjoy your life. So, I will no longer need your services. You don't have to do anything else for me. We can still remain friends, but no more Phoebe. I don't want to drag you into my life, my problems, or even my feelings. It'll only be trouble. Don't bother to ask me why, I won't say a word about it. Live your life Phoebe. Make something of it. And try to be happy.
Sincerely, your friend,
Helga
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"I'm over him Phoebe. It's time I moved on." Those words echoed in Phoebe's mind. Never had she thought that Helga would ever do such a thing. It seemed surreal. Phoebe noticed a few places where it was once wet. As if Helga was crying when she wrote it. A little scene flashed in her mind. In it, she pictured Helga sitting at a desk in her room, paper before her, purple pen in one hand, her locket in the other, while she sits there clutching the locket, scowling, and crying through closed eyes. Little did Phoebe know, that's pretty much exactly what happened that night.
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-End Flashback-
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Phoebe hoped that Helga would of gotten better, but that wasn't true. Since that day, Helga seemed to have sunk deeper and deeper into depression and get even more aggravated, ruthless, uncaring, unforgiving, and everything else she's evolved into today...
Phoebe sighs and starts talking to herself, "So much has changed about her... That's not Helga up there. That's someone else. Why Helga? Why have you let your heart grow so black, so cold, so uncaring and unforgiving?"
Indeed, not only does Helga act different, she looks a little different as well. Mostly changes were in color. Instead of a white T-shirt, she wore a pink one. Instead of a pink dress with a red stripe, it was black with a pink stripe. Helga also wore a pair of black pants. She also let down her hair into a long free flowing ponytail. She still had that unibrow, and she didn't wear any makeup or jewelry. She was considered unattractive, but Helga could care less. She wanted to be feared and hated. Yet, one thing remained...that pink bow atop her head. It still rested in the same place for practically her whole life. Somehow it seemed to suit her. Though no one knew why she still wore it, even at 15 years old.
Everyone else...well, pretty much same personality, similar styles of clothes, and obviously they had a few physical changes as well. But all around they're mostly the same. There were some new people in town as well, but not many associated with most of the old gang. If anything most are associated with themselves or Rhonda and Lila, the leaders of the popular group, which had both girls and boys.
Helga sat on the bleachers, staring blankly into nothingness. Her thoughts and feelings, confused and twisted. Nothing made sense...except hiding her true feelings. Sorrow, regret, pain, and so much more were hidden away from everyone. Love and Happiness weren't even present in the 15-year old Helga Pataki. She lost those feelings and emotions similar to those, about 3 years ago maybe even longer. So what was she feeling? No one could tell...and Helga didn't seem to know. Everything was confusing. Nothing seemed to matter. The world was her enemy. But one thing remained clear...
'I'll never forget that day...when I found out...that day, exactly 5 years ago.' Helga thought to herself.
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Chapter 3 "A Day of Sorrow" is up next!
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-King RTS-I'm the King of My World!
