A/N: Hey there, readers! Finally had the time to upload a new section! Ya'll know how finals week is. Anyway, I hope you like this one. This one features Arnold and Helga, and I know you all will enjoy this.
"How are you feeling?" Arnold examined Helga as he approached the hospital bed she was resting on. He put a hand on the railing to sturdy himself as he finally took in her appearance.
Helga's beauty wasn't altered at all by the accident. She had an unusually giant gash on the left side of her heart shaped face, and it was sewn with stiches. A few bruises were splotched across her skin, and her pink color was replaced by a ghostly white. No accident however could take away the hidden beauty she always had, but rarely chose to show.
'If only she would display this side to her more often…' Arnold said to himself, just basking before her beauty.
'Did I just call Helga beautiful?'
Her eyes at last opened, and tears were threatening to pour out. Arnold could see that she was hurt, and not just from the physical pain, but the emotions. He couldn't blame her.
"What happened to me, Arnold?" Helga demanded. Her lips were dry and cracked, as she could barely speak a word. "No one will tell me."
Before sitting beside her on the hospital bed, he found his chapstick that he always kept with him, and offered it to her. She searched for confirmation in his eyes, and slowly stole the chapstick from his fingers.
He observed as she pulled off the cap and mildly pressed his chapstick onto her worn, bloodied lips.
'I won't ever use any other chapstick again…' He promised himself as the chapstick glazed her lips.
'Did I seriously just think that?'
After she was finished, she placed the cap back on and held it out to him. As he placed it back in his pocket, he followed her glance to the window outside. It was cloudy and mucky outside; they were expecting a storm this evening.
"Helga…" Arnold began, letting his hand fall on top of hers. "If you want me to tell you what I saw, I will. But I'm not sure if it's best…"
"JUST TELL ME, football head!" Helga snarled at him, her eyebrows arching into one just like they used to when she was upset with him when they were kids. Arnold sighed and turned away to gaze out the same window she had before. "Someone hit you on the head with a wine bottle, and you fell off Rhonda's back. Phoebe and Gerald stayed with you until the ambulance came…"
'But you, Helga Pataki, were still in love with Arnold then, until you came back sophomore year, completely changed…'
'Oh no…' Helga recalled herself throwing a wine bottle at Rhonda. She had started the physical fight.
"I bet it was Lila." Helga growled, and her hand slipped out from underneath Arnold's. She crossed her arms and mimicked Arnold's glance.
"Helga. Don't waste your thoughts on Lila." Arnold assured her, untangling her arms from her chest.
Helga yanked her arms from Arnold's hands and recrossed her arms. "But you waste your thoughts on her."
Ouch. He took a deep breath in before answering. "Helga, I…"
"Save it, football head. I don't need your excuses." Helga muttered, finally letting her arms fall to her sides. She tried to push the memory of her chucking a wine bottle at Rhonda out of her head. 'He'll hate me if I tell him…'
"We have always been friends, Helga. We always will be." Arnold had yet to greet Helga's eyes again. He watched as the clouds began to stretch above the hospital.
Arnold didn't know how to respond. He didn't want to upset her anymore than she already was. She wasn't in the condition to talk about this yet.
"We can't talk about this right now, Helga." Arnold decided to at last return Helga's stare. Her blue eyes gazed into his, anxiously waiting an explanation. He sighed once more. "I want to wait till you're feeling better."
"I'm fine, Arnoldo. I just got hit on the head. No big deal." She replied, reaching over to take a sip of her water.
No big deal? No big deal? He couldn't believe the words that were exiting her mouth.
"You're in a hospital, Helga! You got hit on the head with a wine bottle! This is a big deal! You were buried in blood and unconscious when you came in the hospital, and you're telling me this is no big deal? You suffered a critical injury, Helga. You don't know what it was like to watch you be pushed into that ambulance. It was…" Arnold swallowed and allowed his fingers to graze her soft skin on her face. "It was unbearable."
Helga's hand covered Arnold's on her face, and sighed. "I'm sorry, Arnold. I'm so sorry."
Arnold continued to trace his fingers on her face. "It's not your fault, Helga. It's not."
'But it is my fault, darling.'
Helga for the first time he saw her today smiled briefly. "I know. Thanks for everything."
Arnold couldn't help the heat rushing to his face as he grinned back. "No. Thank you, Helga."
They continued to sit there, his hand on her, her hand on his hand, for a few minutes in silence, until another knock came upon the hospital door.
The door creaked open, and a brunette nurse stuck her head into the room.
"Miss Pataki, I just wanted to remind your guest that visiting hours are over for today. We'll return in a few minutes."
"Yes, I know. Thank you." Helga whispered, and dropped her hand off Arnold's. "Well, will you come visit me tomorrow, Football Head? You can come see me at my house."
Arnold's cheeks flushed heat once more for the second time today. "Of course, Helga. I'll come see you tomorrow. We can talk then." His finger curved the edge of her face once more before leaving the silky skin.
"Goodbye, Arnold." Helga managed to smile once more.
"Goodbye, Helga." He smiled back, not just because he was happy to see that she was doing well, but at how beautiful her smile was.
Arnold sat up from leaning on Helga and swiftly left the hospital bed. As he began to walk away, he couldn't remove the emerging frown off his face.
'How am I going to tell her?'
'How am I going to tell him?'
