Helga hoists herself on the door, her eyes seal close, beginning to relive moments that just passed.
A partial smile materializes at the feel of his hand covering hers. "I hope this food is tasty," Helga says with the incoming view of a restaurant building. "I'm hungry enough to eat a horse. Olga's been bringing over all this weird food that tastes like tree bark."
"Ladies first." His voice comes close, bringing with it an infectious twirling of his upper lip. One of his hands grips the door while the other rests on the small of her back. As she walked by, he whispers something she couldn't make out.
But that doesn't keep the sides of her mouth from upturning.
"Table for two," Helga announces, propping an elbow on the table. A mass of pink invades her vision until the bubblegum pops. The woman reaches down pulling out two booklets. "Take these and wait for a table to be available."
After sitting, she takes in the place, the paintings, the easy listening tunes, mix of various age groups and glances over at Arnold. Not at all surprised how much he seems to be enjoying the atmosphere and gets a confirmation. "This place is great doncha think?"
"The growling of my stomach says otherwise; they're hella slow."
"It does appear that way." he runs some fingers through his purposely messy hair. "Hopefully they'll speed up."
Her teeth grit after sighting a few vacant tables. "Hope ain't enough for me." With a few steps, she's right before the welcoming stand. "Excuse me. When are we going to be seated?"
"I couldn't tell you." Her long fingernails click on the screen as she chews and snaps her gum like a cow.
Helga plants her hands on her hips. "Think you could give your phone a rest and find out? Because we're starving over here."
"I have to wait for a signal." Her bored and narrowed gaze lifts at Helga's presence. "You're still here?"
Helga's face twisted into a scowl and her hand tightened into a fist. "Look you little-"
"Hi," He moves in front of her before she could say something rash. and reads the name tag. "Tessa..."
She throws up her arms staking a claim on the nearest corner, perturbed at the difference in reception.
'I request the same thing, and she acts like a snot. Golden boy Shortman flashes that award-winning smile and the chick turns into the employee of the month.'
Her eyes shoot daggers when this moderately cute girl shines her teeth in Arnold's face. But she exhales her fiery once the subject flees her stool. She then just observes her date as he leans comfortably on the counter. His nicely fitted patterned blouse, the dulcet and unflustered way he speaks to a kind but large size waiter male.
Observing this brief exchange, it became even more evident in some respects, Arnold is her complete opposite while still managing to feel totally perfect for her.
"Nepotism..." She scuffs. "It took your football headed charm to get her butt moving. Did you see her grinning like a fool? She was fake can be."
"Yeah... the waiter Bill said he couldn't wait until she's gone. But she's the owner's daughter so..." He pauses to drink some water. "Hey but we're getting great service now." His eyes shape into half lids. "Wait, " He knocks on the table. "so you think I'm charming?"
She pushes back, rolling her eyes away. "Ah don't get a big head."
Chuckling he presses his back firmly into the chair, and his hands rise to rest on the top of his hair. He offers a little wink. "Too late.."
...
"HELGA!" Her eyes snap open, partially alarmed at her sisters over the top behavior. "Mommy, Daddy, Helga just came in!"
The two of them dart out of the kitchen. Miriam, speeding out first. "Oh, Helga dear we were worried. Where have you been?" Bob does a nod in agreement with his wife.
After getting over the shock of this excitement, Helga places her hands on her hips. It isn't like she doesn't take off for hours anyway and usually, everyone was too busy with their individual lives to notice. "Yeah, it's me." She jerks her chin back. "What's with you guys? I was just out like I always am. It's not like I got abducted by aliens or something ..." some faint giggles come out. "Unless you count football head."
"Football head?" He scuffs, jerking his chin back. "Who the heck is that?"
"Arnold."
His skim the ceiling and drops to his daughter. "Oh him - You've been hanging out with that weird boy a lot lately." He folds his arms. "Do you two got something going on?"
Olga looks from Bob to Helga with the giddiest smile before she could respond. "Oh Helga, I always knew you and that sweet boy would get together. Is daddy right, you two go together?"
Go together? Criminy, is she stuck in grade school? "Um, yeah." Answers Helga with an eye roll at the gasps from the other women in the room. But no way is this discussion continuing. "Mmkay - I have some stuff to do, so if you'll excuse me-"
"No little lady we need to speak about this now." Bob's feeble attempt at putting his foot down, but Helga's already halfway up the staircase.
"How about we don't and say we did." And with that, she sprints to her room to drift back into her thoughts.
...
Arnold skims the building windows, most of the lights are off. So he frees his hands to climb his fire escape. A decision that is equal parts to avoid disturbing anyone out of politeness but also, so they won't put him through the ringer.
Getting inside, quickly, he disrobes and slides under his covers. Honestly he also just wants to continue basking in the aftermath of the most amazing date he ever had.
"Ptff, I'm not impressed. That's nothing but beginners luck."
"Helga..." He huffed and grabbed his ball rather forcefully. Once in position in front of the lane, he snuck a smirk over to her. "Watch me get another strike."
She cackled and snorted. "Don't you mean gutterball?"
With his squinted eyes on the target, he plummets the ball tanking it down the lane. Both stay silent until it smashes into the middle pins, toppling down the others.
Arnold practically clicked his heels and did a quick spin once he saw his perfect score pop up on the screen above. He looked over at Helga who was untying her bowling shoes, sneering at him. He instantly chuckled in spite of the way she grimaced. In the depths of her eyes are admiration and affection. Then his eyes went back the board he realized that as strange as the concept was, had he been with a 'nicer' girl who gently encouraged him, he probably wouldn't have ended up playing as hard.
As his gaze swoops to Helga again, her eyes skid up to the scoreboard, and her mouth lifts beautifully. She freezes when they're eyes connect. The redness on her cheeks contrasts dramatically with her pale skin. While waiting for their shoes, Arnold's eyes stay aimed to Helga. It's very obvious to him that her actions while the surface seems one way, but has underlining, positive effects. He can see that it might be intentional on her part. And that theory makes it hard to control the happiness that soars inside from registering on his face.
He never thought he'd feel such a thing, the most with Helga. But as he interlaces their fingers he has no doubts that he doesn't want to be anywhere else than with her.
A hollow knock causes a slight flinch. Arnold clears his throat. "Yes?" He grunts anticipating an occurrence of great annoyance.
But then his jaw drops when faces he resembles equally come into view. Those green eyes stretch so wide and bright as he is rushing over towards his entrance. "Mom, dad!"
"Hey, Arnold!" they greet at the same time.
"You're back." His forehead crinkles. "Why didn't you tell me?" He shakes his head before they can answer. "Forget it. I'm just happy you're here." Those long arms stretch wide to hug them simultaneously.
Once separated from their embrace, he exhales slowly and steadily. Then his blinking phone catches his attention.
A heavy slamming of doors steals his attention, and a shouting match ensues and descends in rapid speed.
Glancing up at his parents, he shakes his head. "Yeah, that's still going on." focusing back on the message and an incoming one his bright eyes skate up to theirs. "Oh, I have some great things to tell you."
The touches from him are lenient yet incredibly romantic. His fingers make circles at her waist, while his lips send her to the moon.
She'd made out a few times but never has anyone kissed her like this. The absence of him makes her forehead wrinkle, but her disappointment is soothed by a brief but tender caress to her frontal lobe.
He laughs, making her slightly level back to earth. "Sorry, if I was too forward, I wanted to do that for a very long time and-"
Arnold yelps when Helga yanks his collar pulling him into her, putting her FTI confession to shame.
"Hey girl!"
"Argh..." Her nails sink into the sheets with her groans. "What?!"
"What are you up there doing? I've been calling you for hours." She rolls her eyes at the exaggeration. "I need you to do something for me."
What now? Helga sighs but after getting a whiff of the time she hops off the bed. I guess I dozed off. She checks her reflection for scant seconds then heads down.
She's on the cusp of leaving when Bob's gruff voice hits her ears. "Hey, where are you going? Did you not hear what I said?" He asks cocking one eye at her.
"I have plans..."
"Plans? Olga's making a big dinner, and she has an announcement."
Her fingers leave her phone, and her shoulders slug in patience. "Listen, dad; I don't want to sit through Olga's pea soup or whatever. Plus I already made plans before I knew about this."
"Hey your sister has some important news for us, and it would appropriate for you to be here. She's your sisters that odd head kid's not your blood. She's always been there for you."
"When it suits her..." Helga mutters under her breath accompanied by a huff.
"Aye! I heard that!" He yells. "That's why no one wants to be around you because you're ungrateful."
Oh the irony, Miriam's always overworking to avoid being around you. Some amused snorts escape her as she heads to the door. "Whatever you say, Bob, I'll be back later."
Arnold, from his position on the sidewalk, is positively shocked at the sight of her bare legs. "Helga you're wearing a skirt."
She pauses, looks down and cuts her eyes. "Gee I hadn't noticed."
His rounded eyes keep rolling over her. "But you never-"
"Look, it's warm out, and...I didn't do laundry so wham. Now, are we going to this movie or not? I don't want to miss the beginning 'cause of your shenanigans."
"We have time."
"That doesn't mean I want to waste standing around like a bum. I also want to hit up the concession." She huffs when his eyes keep darting down. "Oh get over it's not like you've never seen me in a dress."
"True, but this one is ...shorter."
She tucks some stray hairs behind her ear, feeling slightly self-conscious. "What? You got a problem with this or something?"
He begins to wave his palms. "No, no not at all!"
Her hands dip to her hips. "I hope you don't think I'm gonna be wearing this every day?"
"No, I like how you dress on a regular. It's just that..." His gaze rips away. "You have - your legs are very, very pleasing to the eye, alright."
He peeks a look at her in time see her face split into a wide grin as she cackles. Arnold blinks, deadpanning at her. I compliment her, and she laughs.
Her amusement wears off, but not the grin. "Anyways... nuff about my wardrobe, you don't see me yapping about that skirt you use to wear...that's Rhonda's territory anyway."
That does nothing to fade his rosy cheeks. "I'm not. ..It wasn't a-"
She ascends ahead quickly before he could finish. "Let's get moving." Her eyes rise and slap her sides, glancing over her shoulder. "Everyone knows the previews are usually the best part of the film."
It's only been a short time since their courtship began in some respects, things are the same and in other ways fresh and new. Sometimes or often, they stumble into banter or fiercely competing at sports or board games. Or fall into debates about minor or significant topics because unlike other girls he's dated in the past, Helga isn't shy about letting him know when her views differ.
What's new are the passion-filled kisses that end with sweet caresses and lots of cuddling that sporadically start in between random chatter.
And then, there are moments where Helga slips into reflective moods. At present unlike before she spills her feelings without Arnold having to pry the information out of her as much.
"You know when we saw that kung-fu horror flick you loved so much?"
Arnold coughs back a snicker. "Yeah. Why?"
"Told yah the previews would be the best part." He rolls his eyes but also bobs his head. "That night Olga prepared this feast for everyone to proceed an important announce. Her move to New York to pursue her Broadway career full time." Helga stretches her fingers and then pops and cracks her knuckles. A nasty habit of hers that makes Arnold cringe every time she does it. "I didn't want to stay, plus you and I had already made plans. I was not about to ruin a date..." She rolls her eyes when his dimple creases at that. "just to listen to Olga's mouth on and on. I've heard enough to last a lifetime. But then..." She sighs. "Bob and I got into our usual tiffs and then hearing you talk about your parents - reliving the past - got me thinking."
"About?"
"Would you say I'm ungrateful?"
"Why would you-"
"Bob called me that," Her head rolls to one side. "he has before." Her hands clasp, and her eyes fix to the sparkling water below. "I've always had everything I needed. You know a family intact. Not a perfect one but I had both parents while you didn't and yet you-"
"Wait, why are you comparing? Our situations were different. And to be frank, you haven't been given everything you need."
Her knees come into her chest as she hunches over to stare at him. "How? I have a roof over my head, clothes food in the tube -they fund my creative outlets..."
"And that's all great. I think you do appreciate that. But I was thinking along the lines of ... you know being there for you, offering encouragement... acceptance... stuff like that. "
She shrugs. "Eh, that's overrated." That's a claim Arnold's sure she doesn't believe.
"I think you know it isn't - you bringing this up proves that."
"Yeah well..." she taps his chest. "If venting's so right, how come you don't do it much, huh?"
Amusingly smirking, he bumps her shoulder. "Cause you do it enough for the both of us."
Helga lightly taps the back of his head. "Jerk."
"Speaking of parents. Did you invite them to your performance?"
"Yeah."
"And?"
Her answer is a small head shake with a shrug.
The concern in the crevices of his feature could be spotted miles away. "I'm okay Arnoldo, so don't worry your pretty little football head." She sucks her teeth, bumps his shoulder. Arnold studies her; there's no trace of agony. Still, the nubs of his fingers stroke the skin of her upper arm continuing as her chin lowers to the back of her hands. "Thing is, I get it with Miriam. She's wasted so much of her life, and now that's completely sober she's trying to make up for lost time." Her eyes drop, and she shakes her head. "But in general what I know for certain for my life is...I don't want to have children until I've taken care of my issues, so I don't ever pass my b.s. on to them."
"That's - that's good." He nods and his brows knit while his hand rests on top of hers, gaining her attention. His cheeks redden just a spec under her gaze. "um... you remember when you said something along the lines of me finding someone I can trust to exchange ideas with?" She offers a slight nod. "I have." His face glows. "But I'm hoping - well, based on how things have been going; I'm hoping that I'm that person for you."
Helga gives a full-eyed stare, shaking her head in some disbelief. Slowly, her gaze shifts into half-lids and her mouth curve up. "Oh, Arnold," she whispers softly, the sweet tone shocking his system, pleasantly. "You've always been that person."
He blinks, his eyes twinkled, and his teeth show. "Really?"
"Of course, you dumb-"
Her breath hitched and almost falls back when his lips crash into hers. She didn't expect that passion from him. But she's not complaining. Despite the shock, it takes milliseconds for her to react and in a blink of an eye, they sink into their version of heaven. However, he's careful not to knock them into the water.
Helga gallops down the stairs running on adrenaline. Her eyes scan the multitude of unfamiliar faces landing on three beaming ones.
Arnold extended his arm towards her, making her brows quirk up. "Mom, dad, I'd like to introduce to my girlfriend, Helga." With a slight squint, he scratches through his hair. "Or maybe I should say reintroduce."
"Oh, Helga it's great to see you again. And you were wonderful up there!" The both of them hug in a similar way as Arnold did every so often when they were kids.
Helga steps back and out of the snug embrace with her eyes twinkling. "Thank you. Uh," She says to Stella then looks over at his father and smiles. "Thanks for coming."
Miles sets an arm on Arnold's shoulder. "When Arnold told us about you, we couldn't miss. Ever since we got home, we couldn't get this guy to stop yapping on and on and on-"
"Dad..." Arnold utters something else unclear as he groans, annoyed with his father's teasing.
Helga tries to smother it, but her derisive-sounding laugh makes Arnold's eyes narrow because he knew it was at his expense.
"Ah, son," Miles elbows him. "I'm sure Helga here knows how much you admire her."
Stella grabs her husband's hand, sheepishly grinning at the couple. "Now Miles, leave the kids alone you're embarrassing them."
"Nonsense... oh okay." He caves to Stella's request. "Well, Helga congratulations on your well-done performance. And you two enjoy yourselves. I'm sure Arnold has plans to take you out to celebrate. Huh kiddo," He nudges him some.
Arnold shakes off the embarrassment and sneaks an arm around her waist. "Of course, you and grandpa taught me well."
...
Helga, with her fork, moves her food around, about to take another bite, instead looks up. Kind moony eyes are staring back at her, accompanied by that half upcurling of his mouth. "Are you trying to memorize my face or something?"
He breaks the stare with a chuckle and props his chin on the back of his hand. "Maybe," He shrugs nonchalantly at the same time looking so adorably affectionate.
The area around her cheekbones heats up. "W-Well, cut it out, it's creeping me out."
Arnold does a set of sarcastic nods. "Yeah," He smirks. "I can see that." He reaches out and takes her hand, interlaces her fingers.
Her pearly whites flash for scant seconds, then sink behind her pink gloss stained lips.
When Helga turns around at her front door, an unexpected sly grin is on his face. "So, He grabs hold of her wrist. "When can I take you out again?" His mouth turns down an inch when his mind skips ahead. "You know school will be over soon and-"
Helga smiles with a hint of a smirk. "Whenever you can catch me."
"Well," He licks his lips, the slyness is slowly returning. "Until then... we'll always have Chez Paris."
He bows to kiss her hand, and she pulls it back with a kneejerk giggle.
"We didn't go to..." Arnold straightens his spine, watching her go through variations of shock. "How...?"
Arnold chuckling takes an inch back. "C'mon." His fingers rise to comb through her downcasting strands. "I might be a daydreamer, but I'm not brainless, Helga."
"But-"
She's interrupted in the best way possible, by his smooth lips. After a minute so, with a hooded gaze, he peels back from the embrace and subtly chuckles. "Let's just say I connected the dots." His eyes follow the finger outlining the full shape of her parted mouth. "You're even more beautiful than that night." He leans in again to kiss right above her eyebrows, dragging down to her nose than to her lips again. "Nite, Helga." He tracks down her stoop. After taking a glance back, he chuckles happily, completely loving whenever he says or does something that leaves her speechless.
~that's all. I hope this is okay; I didn't get to edit it as much as I wanted. But I wanted to update b/c before my schedule changes. I think the next chapter might be the last for this story.
Anyway, thanks to everyone, enjoy your week;P