DISCLAIMER: ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO CRAIG BARTLETT AND NICKELODEON!
OBVIOUSLY if a character appears in this story that is not from the show it's my own filler character or whatever.
Chapter 4:
"What a complete and utter asshole your father is." Patty spoke bluntly, making Helga laugh.
"You can say that again." Rhonda huffed.
"What a complete and utt-oof." Patty started before Rhonda beamed a pillow at her. It had been quite a while since Helga made it to the Lloyd home and she told the girls everything that had happened within her glorious Saturday morning, cutting out her chilling view of an enraged Arnold, no reason to mention it when she didn't get it herself, it could have just simply been pent up rage for his bully that he was keeping in check. Always the Goody-Two-Shoes.
Nadine leaned forward resting her head on her hands. "So Wolfgang really turned over a new leaf, huh?"
"Hardly," Helga started. "More like he just likes rutting his little Wolfgang into damsels in distress, luckily I wasn't falling for that one bit. Though, he did catch me off guard with the ride, my slippers and my feet appreciate that sentiment." She had also kept out the little bit of him hinting Arnold having feelings for her. She scoffed, as if.
"What was the scoff for, Helga?" Patty tilted her head to the side and quirked her brow.
"Oh, uh, nothing just recalling how dumbfounded ole Football-Head looked when I happened to land on his steps a mess, he probably got an internal kick out of that one for sure. Outside he had to be his usual caring good guy façade but he probably enjoyed every moment of my mysterious agony."
Phoebe frowned and kept silent, she already knew this was her trying to cope with her stressful, emotional day, couldn't blame her for needing to bring up a negative view of Arnold even if he genuinely cared.
"Yeah… I bet." Rhonda murmured. "So then, I do believe Phoebe said that she had your prom dress? If I heard correctly?" Changing the subject much to Phoebe's relief.
"Yes and I brought it and a bag of Helga's things that she left over my house months ago. She has like a week worth of stuff from Christmas Vacation."
"Excellent, well it looks like you'll be staying here in my humble abode, Cherie." Rhonda purred.
"What? No way! I have some savings I've been stacking up during summer jobs since I was old enough to work, I'm more than capable to handle myself for a few months somewhere as I look for some after school work." Helga quickly insisted.
"You have enough problems on your plate, bothering with a job search so close to finals and prom and graduation will just give you gray hairs and make you age faster." Nadine spoke out and then the other women soon agreed.
"It's settled. Helga from this day on you will be staying here with me, and I will be in charge of your hair and makeup when Prom and Graduation come. That is all I ask for as payment." Rhonda challenged.
"I… but… you guuuuuys" Helga huffed as they all looked at her sternly. "Ugh, fine. I'll stay and be Rhonda's god damn make over project. BUT THE EYEBROW STAYS. It's trademarked." She added.
Wrinkling her nose, Rhonda groaned but agreed to the terms, no matter how confused she was to the need to keep the…'brow'. "Done and done." She suddenly pulled out a remote and hit a button, a few more moments passed and a woman came in.
"Yes, Miss Lloyd?" The woman, apparently a house keeper or maid spoke softly as she assessed the room, "Ah I understand, your friend is ready to be escorted to the guest room. Come with me please, I will show you to your things."
"She understands? Are you saying you guys had this all set up for me?" Helga looked around the room, every soul in the room looked guilty, and proud to be guilty too. "Unbe-fucking-lievable." She sighed and followed the woman out, closing the door behind them.
After a few seconds Patty sighed. "I'm glad she finally got herself out of there."
"Yea she's been looking horrible ever since her mother left." Nadine said softly shaking her head.
"I wish it was just the troubles at home that were bothering her," Rhonda groaned. Phoebe nodded, they were the only ones who knew what troubles Helga had outside of Bob's house.
X-X-X-X-X
"What's the matter Short-Man?" Grandpa Phil asked as he walked up the steps to the attic, Arnold was laid out on his bed, face in his pillow. His legs hanging over the bed his shoes untied but still very-much on.
"I don't want to talk about it, Grandpa." He muttered into the pillow. Phil sat on the side of his bed and placed his hand on his back.
"Look Kiddo, I know you might not want to talk about it, but you looked horrible earlier when you came back from outside and I've never heard you stomp up the stairs so loud, Pookie thought it was an earthquake, took me a whole hour to get her from under the dining room table." He paused a moment. "In fact I think she might have crawled back under by now…"
"Sorry," Arnold groaned and he rolled over to look out the ceiling window, it was pretty late now, maybe 9 or 10, and he'd been up here ever since Helga left around Noon. He sighed and looked over to his phone on his dresser.
"That's been ringing on and off for hours," Phil said quietly, Arnold already knew that he got so agitated by it he eventually turned it on silent.
"I know Grandpa…" Arnold sighed and he sat up snatching the phone off the counter. "I just have a lot of things running through my head, that's all, I'm fine though." He admitted. He did feel better than he had earlier and he knew at the moment his tantrum was just silly. "Thanks for checking in on me. I'm okay." Giving the old man a genuine smile he stretched and looked through his phone, a crap ton of missed calls from Gerald and one or two from Lila. He smiled, just reading her name on his phone made him giddy.
"Well okay Short-Man, I'll leave you to your catching up," Halfway down the stairs Phil stopped. "Oh right, Arnie is going to be staying with us for a little while, I heard he's already graduated and was thinking about looking for work in the city. Since Oscar and his wife moved out, he doesn't need to invade your space."
Arnold made a less than pleasant face and sighed. "Alright Grandpa… Thanks for not making me put up with him again, he's family and all but weird… very weird."
"Don't forget creepy and smelly!" Gertie cried from under the table in the dining room.
"I swear that woman has ears like a bat when she wants to." Phil chuckled and closed the door, leaving Arnold to his thoughts and his cellphone.
First things first, call Gerald. Arnold decided as he hit call-back on his phone.
"Arnold, where the hell have you been all day?!" Gerald's voice practically vibrated the phone. "I've been calling you all damn day, man." The agitation more than apparent by now.
"Yea I see that, sorry Gerald I was in a rut about something silly, it's all over now though. Oh and Phoebe said sh-" He was cut off by Gerald's voice again.
"Yea, yea I know I ended up calling her when she wasn't home."
"Ah, alright. Oh did you know Wolfgang was in town?" Arnold muttered.
"Yea, but I don't see why that's really that big a deal, we have enough things going on with prom and graduation. Some wayward bully coming back when we're all practically grown is the least of our problems."
"Yea you have a point, I guess." Arnold agreed.
"You guess Arnold? I'm quoting your own damn words, Brother. You said these exact words to me when Jamie O came to visit for spring break." Gerald growled.
"Oh, right, I forgot. Sorry Gerald I guess I'm just a bit tired, plus seeing Wolfgang made me think of old times, and it was too much with Helga crying on my steps. He was so nice to her out of nowhere."
"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Are we back on this, Helga nonsense again? Arnold, the girl is the biggest bully of your entire life, did you hear me, IS meaning she still makes your life hell, drop the caring gig for half a second and wake up and smell the coffee. She is a bully, mainly to you if she was crying and Wolfgang was being nice to her then let them have at it, as long as she isn't dying on your stoop, it is not your problem, My Brother. Now get your head out your ass and stop thinking about bullies hooking up."
Hooking up? The idea made the muscles in his hand and arm flex with annoyance. "Yea, you're right Gerald. Well I'll call you back in a bit, I have to call Lila back, since I missed her calls too."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but if you need to, put your attention on that girl if it gets your brain off the Secret Life of the Hilwood Bullies. I'll catch you later, peace." With that Gerald hung up.
Arnold sighed and had to agree it really wasn't his business, whatever was between Helga and Wolfgang was totally fine and nothing he should bother with.
Just then his phone began to vibrate in his hand, he looked at the ID, it happened to be Lila. He chuckled and answered. "Hey Love, sorry about me zoning out, I guess I was more tired than I knew, I've been in bed all day."
"Oh Arnold I'm ever-so happy to know you're okay, I was getting worried and almost came over to check on you." Arnold smiled as Lila worried over him.
"Well I'm fine, though you can still come over if you want to…" Arnold started.
"Oh Arnold, you know oh-so well that my father feels your grandparents aren't good chaperones. I ever-so wish he trusted you more." It's not like she ever introduced him to her father yet so he couldn't blame him for not trusting him.
"Yea, yea I understand. Are we still up for the movies tomorrow?" Asked Arnold.
"Of course, Arnold." Lila beamed.
"Awesome, oh, my grandpa told me Arnie's supposed to be moving in for a while, crazy huh?" There was a long pause on Lila's end and for a moment Arnold thought she disconnected. "Lila?"
"Oh, I'm ever-so sorry Arnold I have to go, my father is calling me, tata, see you tomorrow." She mewed into the line before disconnecting. A feeling of unease settled into the pit of Arnold's stomach for a moment, last time Arnie was over, Lila was all over him, and his weirdness. But that was surely all in the past, right?