Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold or any of the characters. Hey Arnold is the property of Nickelodeon and Craig Bartlett.
Double Date
Arnold and Helga go on a double date with Gerald and Phoebe.
It was Sunday in the town of Hillwood and Arnold and his darling wife Helga had plans for today. They were going out with their friends Gerald and Phoebe to go to Sueño, a hot, new restaurant in town that just opened up a few days ago and they were looking forward to it.
It was going to be a like a double date, like they used to do back when they were still in school.
"Helga, have you seen my denim jacket?...'Arnold asked his wife who was putting on her perfume.
"Check at the end of the closet, darling…. it's the second to last one at the back...'His wife said without even looking away from the mirror.
Arnold checked and to his surprise, it was right where she said it was. His old denim blue jacket.
"Thanks honey, man I haven't worn this thing since college.." Arnold said as he put his jacket on, and was pleased that it still fit perfectly, like a glove.
"Now this takes me back...you and me commuting to either campus, us snuggling in your car at make out point or you and me sneaking around to make out where the campus security guards couldn't find us..."Helga said with a grin as she recalled those wonderful memories of their college years.
"Good times, good times...'Arnold said with the same kind of grin on his face.
Despite having gone to different colleges, their romance didn't die since their schools were only about 20 minutes away and spent as much time as possible when they weren't busy with their part time jobs or cramming for exams.
'So, how do I look?...'Helga asked as she did a twirl to model the outfit she was now wearing.
"Beautiful as always..." Arnold said with a flirty smile to his wife.
"Thanks but I meant my outfit...'Helga said with a teasing smile to her husband.
'You look great..."He said honestly.
Since Sueño is suppose to have a casual dress code and atmosphere, Helga chose to wear her white blouse, blue jeans, black slingbacks, matching belt and even her pink scarf as well due to the weather today. Arnold was wearing his old denim jacket, jeans, a green shirt underneath and black shoes and his matching belt.
Needless to say, they looked and felt cool and comfortable, their favorite style.
"What time is it?..."The wife asked.
"It's about 10:45..."Arnold as he glanced at his watch.
"We better be heading out, Gerald and Phoebe will be expecting us there at 11 sharp..."She said to Arnold.
"Alright, let me just get my wallet...'Arnold said as he grabbed the item and put it in his pocket, finally ready to go.
Helga soon grabbed her purse and the married couple soon left their apartment, hopped into Arnold's black Mazda and they soon were off to the restaurant, where their friends would be waiting for them.
At Sueño
A couple had arrived to the restaurant and went to talk to the maiter D...
It's Gerald Johanssen and his fiancé Phoebe Hyerdahl, how had arrived to the restaurant for their double date with Arnold and Helga, who had yet to arrive.
"Table for 4, please...our friends will be arriving soon..."Gerald said to the man.
"Come right this way..." He said as he lead them to a table.
The couple soon arrived and looked at their menu's, before hearing a familiar voice.
"Phoebe! Geraldo!...'Helga called as she and Arnold made it.
"Hey guys...'Gerald said.
"Glad you both could make it..." Phoebe said politely as the couple took their seats.
"Man, I got to say Phoebe, you did not lie, this place sure is something..." Helga said as she admire the atmosphere of the restaurant.
Sueño, as it's name suggested, is a Spanish bar/café like restaurant and it had a very stylish and relaxed décor that made Helga like it, it even played salsa music in the background.
"It reminds me of that restaurant back in San Lorenzo from our last visit..." Arnold commented as he looked at his menu.
"Which one?..." Helga asked as she was glancing at the menu.
"The one in the town near the river, the one that had those empanadas and the live band..." Arnold said.
"Oh yeah, I liked that joint..."Helga said as she recalled the place during their trip last summer when Arnold was on business.
The two couples then began to chat idly about work, social lives and most especially the upcoming wedding between Gerald and Phoebe that's fast approaching until the waiter came to take their orders.
Arnold ordered the beef fillet, Helga had the grilled salmon, Gerald went for the stuffed chicken and Phoebe settled for a salad, as the group continued to eat, drink and be merry.
"Mmm... this salmon here is so boss, I think I might get a second round..."Helga said as she savored the taste of her meal.
"Just don't get carried away, I don't want to wash dishes to pay the bill again...'Gerald said jokingly as he looked at Helga.
"That was only one time in fourth grade and it wasn't my fault that two identical restaurants were right next to each other..."Helga said with her arms crossed
"Whatever...'Gerald said with a shrug.
"It was pretty funny when you look back, we really were crazy as kids, weren't we?..." Arnold said with a nostalgic smile.
"Maybe some of us…"Helga said as she glanced at Gerald.
'Hey don't say that, you weren't TOO bad, Helga..." Gerald quipped sarcastically at the blonde.
"Ha-ha...'She laughed sarcastically.
"'It might have been crazy, but it still wasn't so bad for our first double date..."Arnold said.
"Arnold, we were in fourth grade and back then, you and Helga used to fight all the time...""Gerald pointed out.
"Two couples that clearly had feelings for each other, whether they knew it or not, out having dinner together...it was a double date..." Arnold said.
"Oh Arnold..." Helga swooned as he said this and gave him loving eyes which he returned.
"He does have a point Gerald..." Phoebe said to her fiancé.
"If you ask me, our first double date wasn't that dining disaster but after we returned from San Lorenzo and we all agreed to go to the movies together...and then ice cream at Slaunces, no chaos, no bugs and no mean waiters involved..." Gerald said to his friends who were still smiling at the memories.
"Yeah, that was fun too..especially when we watched the horror movie and Helga screamed so loud she jumped into my lap during half of it..." Arnold chuckled at the memory.
"Football head, I think your memory is foggy, I don't remember ever doing that..." Helga said in a stubborn tone as she looked at her menu.
"Oh, you so totally did...When we watched the two evil twins dismember each other, you screamed so loud and practically clung to me tightly like I was your teddy bear..." Arnold teased.
His wife scoffed and slapped his hand away when he tried to touch her.
"Pu-lease, I'd never act like that, if anything, you were the one who was screaming during half of the film..."Helga said.
"Actually Helga, I do recall you holding onto Arnold a little too tightly during the show...'Phoebe said.
"Traitor...' Helga thought before turning to her meal.
'Ok, so I got scared during the goriest part of the flick, sue me..."Helga said stubbornly.
"Oh, don't be like that honey, I thought it was really cute how during the time of horror, you still wanted to be so close to me..." Arnold said in his teasing voice that made it difficult for her frown to stay in place.
'Arnold...'Helga said as her husband kissed her on the cheek, successfully making her frown turn upside down.
"Ok, ok...enough mush...'Helga said as she giggled as he kept kissing her cheek before turning to her lips.
"Get a room you two..." Gerald said, reminding them that they were still in company.
"Maybe later, right now I want to finish before the food gets cold..'Helga said.
"I so did not need that visual...'Gerald groaned.
Helga ignored him and decided to change the subject, so she turned to her best friend Phoebe, the soon to be blushing bride.
"So any updates about the wedding?...'Helga asked.
"I just sent out the invitations and both of my grandparents said they will be flying from Tokyo and Kentucky to see the big day..." Phoebe said happily.
'That's awesome Pheebs, I haven't seen either of your grandparents since graduation..." Helga said pleased.
Both of Phoebe's grandparents, the elder Ed and Mary Hyerdahl and her father's parents Kyoko and Yamato Yamamoto were every bit as nice as Phoebe's parents are and they always treated Helga kindly during their visits, making them one of the few adults she's always genuinely liked.
"So are mine, man, my grandmother and all of my aunts, uncles and cousins said they will be on any plane, boat, train and cab they can get their hands on to make it to the wedding...'Gerald said.
'My cousin's Marty is even gonna be one of the grooms men, along with Harold, Sid, Stinky and you, of course as the best man, Arnold...'Gerald said.
"Of course Gerald, you know that I will...'Arnold said with a chuckle.
It has been an unspoken agreement between both of the boys is that when either married, the other would be the best man at the wedding. Gerald had been the best man at his wedding, so soon it was going to be his turn to return the favor. Same with Helga and Phoebe as the maid of honor.
"Anyway Helga, I'm still trying to go over the kind of color scheme for the wedding, I want to make sure the bridesmaid dresses are a shade of blue that doesn't clash with the décor..." Phoebe said.
"Don't sweat it Pheebs, the wedding is going to be perfect, I will make sure of it..." Helga said to her best friend.
Suddenly the waiter appeared to take their now empty plates and asked if they would like anything else.
"I'm in the mood for a chocolate lava cake, what about you, darling?..." Helga asked her husband.
"Two of those please..."Arnold said as the waiter wrote down the order.
"I'll go with the almond cheese cake please..." Phoebe said as she glanced at the dessert menu.
"I'll have the sorbet..." Gerald said as the man wrote the order down and soon left.
'Sorbet?..."Helga questioned.
"What? I like things besides coffee..."Gerald said with a shrug.
"Speaking of coffee, I heard that they are opening a new Space Bucks down town..." Arnold said
"That's good, I have been getting so bored at the last two shops in town, maybe this new one will be better..."Helga said sarcastically.
Space bucks was a hot coffee joint that she and her friends went to often and it's popular, so popular that practically ever town in the country had at least 5 of them or so...
"You're just upset that they don't offer poetry contests like the coffee hut at your college did, Ms. Poetry..."Gerald teased.
"Seems somebody still sore over never winning the contest prize of free coffee for the evening...'Helga quipped.
"It ain't my fault the judges couldn't understand my poetic tastes...'Gerald said.
"I thought the reason you lost was because you always did your poems about your urban legends...'Arnold said, earning a look from his best friend.
'Whatever, it's not like a needed the extra java..." Gerald said.
The girls giggled and soon dessert arrived and the two couples continued to eat, talk and have fun together. Soon it was time to pay the bill and the couples paid with their credit cards and left.
But the double date is not over yet...
The two couples soon arrived to the park and soon saw some street performers, including a guy who was pretending to be a statue.
"Are you serious?...'Helga asked as she watch her husband about to leave a dollar in the guys hat, which already had some money in it.
"Why not?...'Arnold said with a shrug.
Helga sighed as she watched him do that, while the guy was still frozen stiff, unmoving as he waited for the world to pay him for literally doing nothing but look stupid.
"It's stuff like this that makes me glad we went to college...'Helga quipped once they were far away from the guy, though Helga doubted he would have done anything.
Her husband sent her an amused look and soon saw something that caught his interest.
"Oh, honey, look..."Arnold pointed to a mime who pretended to be trapped in a box.
"Remember Paris?...'He asked.
"How could I ever forget the city of love, where we had our honeymoon...'Helga said in a swooning way to her husband.
"Neither can I, come on, let's take a picture...'Arnold said as he pulled out his phone and gestured his wife.
Helga decided to amuse him and stood next to the mine who was now pretending to pull something, which Helga imitated. After Arnold took the picture, Helga decided to leave the mime some money for being a good sport, which the street performer seem to appreciate. Arnold sent his wife a smile at that, which she misinterpreted.
"Hey, unlike statue boy, he's actually trying to do something entertaining...kind of...'She said.
'Whatever you say, Helga..." Arnold said.
"Darn right, whatever I say, Arnold...'Helga said, causing her husband to laugh.
As the blonde couple continued their playful banter, Gerald was treating his wife to some snow cones.
"Those two, they really will never change..."Gerald said.
Despite being adults and married, they still had the same playful, fluctuating relationship now as they had growing up. Helga, despite mellowing out with age, would still crack jokes and her fuse was still short and Arnold would always just shrug and humor her when he wasn't busy swapping spit with her, which is practically every five minutes whenever they weren't preoccupied with something else.
"Thank heavens for that, I think it be boring if they did..."Phoebe said with a giggle as she took her fiancé's hand.
"Maybe..."Gerald shrugged in agreement as he enjoyed holding her hand.
The two leaned in and kiss, both of their mouths were cold from the snow cones but they still enjoyed it none the less.
"Just think Gerald, in a few months we will be married, living together in our own place...our own life..." Phoebe said in a blissful tone.
"Yeah, I can't wait either..."Gerald said as he put his arm around her and sent her a tender gaze.
Sure, he might not have been as crazy about it as his friends were, but Phoebe has always been his love, his first crush, first real girlfriend and the one he knew he would love until the day he died. She has always been so beautiful, smart, sweet and just...amazing.
And she's going to be his wife! Just how does a man get to be so lucky anyway?!
Soon their friends arrived, having seen the street performers and now had something else in mind.
"Hey guys, Arnold and I are going to ride the boats on the lake...you guys in...'Helga asked her friends.
"Boats?..." Gerald asked.
"You know...a guy and a girl on the boat, all alone as they row..."Arnold said as he looked at Helga with interest.
'Oh, that..." Gerald said.
"I think it be nice Gerald..." Phoebe said as she fluttered her eyelashes at him.
Gerald soon found himself renting one of the boats, with Phoebe inside it, he took the paddle and began to row while Phoebe stood at the other end of the boat, admiring the surroundings.
Yep, it really is just like an old fashioned row boat date.
He kept rowing and his arms started to feel a little tired but the sight of Phoebe being so absorbed by her surroundings made him forget about it.
"Oh Gerald, the lake looks so beautiful this close..."Phoebe said as she looked at some nearby ducks swimming up to the boat, getting her attention.
"Anything for my girl..."Gerald said as he kept rowing, admiring his fiancé who looked so cute and lady like this way. However, she looked around and suddenly looked worried.
"Where are Arnold and Helga? I thought they were right behind us?...'Phoebe asked as she looked.
Gerald looked but just shook his head and nearly laughed when he saw something a few yards behind them.
"Three guesses...'Gerald said as he pointed in that direction.
Gerald and Phoebe saw another boat on the lake, but it seemed unattended as they didn't see anyone, but they knew that it had passengers, who were most likely doing something other than just rowing, judging by the sounds of giggles and sighing they could hear, despite the distance. Gerald turned to Phoebe who was sending him a flirtatious gleam in her eyes and she sent him a seductive smirk.
Gerald quickly realized what she was thinking and grinned wildly, having no problem with it at all. The dark haired couple soon found themselves kissing, with Phoebe lying on her back on the boat with Gerald on top of her, kissing her like no tomorrow.
"Oh, Gerald~...' Phoebe whispered in between their kisses.
"Oh, Phoebe~...' Gerald purred before resuming his actions.
After a long time, the two boats came back to shore, and the two couples were out of it, however the men had dreamy, half lidded gazed on their face, wrinkled clothes and messed up hair and the girls were no better, as even their make up was smudged a bit from the make out session they just had.
"Gotta love row boats..."Helga said as she took out her compact mirror and fixed her appearance.
"You said it Helga..."Phoebe said as she did the same.
"Uh-huh..."Both Arnold and Gerald said in sync, still with the silly looks on their facing, causing the two women to giggle.
The two couples soon left the park to see a movie together, just as they used to do during their school days and then chatted more about the upcoming wedding between the two dark haired lovers who soon would be married just like their very happy best friends and even more reminiscing of previous double dates from their past as children, teenagers and young college students too. Before long, it was late and the two couples soon parted ways, both blissful and merry at the fun they had both spending time with their special someone and their closest friend as well, with plans of doing so once again real soon...
No matter what age they were, double dates were always a blast for these four best friends!
-To be continued-
Next time on The First Year
Three Generations
New Ideas:
Three Generations: Helga spends the day with her family and remembers about before the wedding, where she spent the entire day with her mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law. (Requested by Invader Johnny).
Arnold's Birthday: It's Arnold's birthday and Helga makes it her mission to make sure her husband has a wonderful time.
Helga's Birthday: It's Helga's birthday and Arnold makes it his mission to make sure she has a wonderful birthday.
Gerald and Phoebe's Wedding: Gerald and Phoebe and getting married and Arnold and Helga need to help them out when they begin to get cold feet.
Our first Halloween: Arnold and Helga host a Halloween party in their apartment and tend to trick or treaters.
Our first thanksgiving: Arnold and Helga prepare for to host their first thanksgiving as a married couple.
Remember that if you have a one shot request or have a particular order in mind, let me know in the comments or PM me.
REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers:
Invader Johnny: Heh, everyone has to learn how to grin and bear it when dealing when annoying relatives, we've all been there, right?
61394: Heh, it's one question that we may never get a real answer to...
Smckoy929: Yeah, anymore and they might have actually snapped...
:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)