Sometimes love just isn't enough

by Jedy

Not all stories end in happily ever afters and this story is about one of those few who don't. The story about our favorite couple, Arnold and Helga... unfinished

5. Trouble Will Brew Between These Three

Hello again! Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the story. I greatly appreciated it. Whew! This is the longest chapter I've ever written. I hope you all like it!

Just one more thing: ~Neo~ The comment that you wrote about Helga not being religious, I agree with you. Helga isn't religious based on the series. But in this story I made her a wee bit religious since she lived with her grandmother for several years. I've lived with both of my grandmothers nearly all my life and they influenced me in some ways. Also I made Lizi religious since, based on Encarta, Sweden is primary a Lutheran country. (I don't know much about Lutherans, being a Catholic myself, but I hope I was close.)

Chapter 4

Trouble will brew between these three

Helga looked at her watch. Her timing was perfect, 6:45 a.m., only a few students would be up this early in the morning. There should only be a handful of people over at the administration building.

She casually walked into the building. Her eyes roved over the small flight of stairs and the information desk. No one was in sight.

Helga walked forward then turned left at the corner. She walked until she reached a much longer flight of stairs at the end of the hall. She went up and looked at the signs on top of the doors and stopped in front of one of them. Helga looked around. There was still no one in sight. She opened her binder and removed a folded piece of paper from the pocket. Helga slid the paper underneath the door and quickly, but silently, went back toward the stairs.

Her timing was perfect; she had no sooner reached the stairs than a brown haired young man wearing glasses opened the door. Finding only an empty hallway he shrugged and went back inside with the piece of paper held firmly in his hands and closed the door behind him.

~3:45 p.m.

Various cloud formations passed her sight as she gazed at the afternoon sky. It was siesta time and Tish and her friends were resting underneath the shade of a huge tree located in the small park at the back of their school.

It had become a tradition for all of them to meet underneath the tree at the end of classes. But today their schedule wasn't the same. Alicia and Helga still had classes until 5:00 but both had an hour break from 3-4. Or had one since both girls were missing.

The tradition had started when Patrick had been waiting for Logan one day. He had passed the time reading a book, like always. Patrick liked the shade of the tree and the silence of the area and now whenever he would wait for someone he would suggest this very spot. Pretty soon everyone came to love the place as well. Tish just liked the fact that she could enjoy watching the sky uninterrupted.

Morticia was lying down on the grass enjoying the silence and nature. She then took a small glance upwards and saw Patrick leaning on the tree and reading a magazine. 'It's a change of pace.'

Below and to the right of Patrick was Logan, lying down on the grass and reading an Archie comic. Tish turned to the right and saw Arnold gazing at the sky. His arms were pillowing his head. She then turned her attention to various students walking through the small park.

She noticed a familiar blonde wearing gray cloth pants and a red blouse. Tish noted that the blonde's hair was let down and seemed wet. 'She must have been playing a sport and then taken a shower.'

In the corner of her eyes she noticed both Arnold and Logan watching Helga as she approached them. 'Trouble will brew between these three.'

She watched Helga come near them. For the past semesters Helga had been joining them but she had remained distant to them until now. Although she would at times put in a few words in a conversation or tease somebody (in reality her tease would be a sarcastic remark but by now they know it's a tease). And, the hardest person Helga got along with was Alicia. Tish figured Alicia wasn't used to behavior like Helga's. But recently the two had been getting along pretty well.

She was also discovering various things about Helga. Helga was silent but extremely smart streetwise and book wise. She was also temperamental, but warm and friendly too. That is if she would just open up to them some more. Tish had come to these conclusions by watching Helga and Arnold interact.

Helga was already in front of them when Patrick yelled a greeting. Helga waved back.

"You took a shower?" Logan asked. He must have noticed her hair too.

Helga rolled her eyes. "Yes, I did."

"Did you just play a sport?" Tish asked.

She nodded. "I went to the gym and did some work-out. My history class got canceled." Helga sat down on Tish's left. She placed her book and binder below her and scoured the group.

"Chelsea just went out for a drink. Alicia still hasn't arrived yet," Arnold said. Helga just nodded.

Silence.

Logan stretched his arms and exclaimed, "I can't believe that this sem marks the end of our second year. Only two more to go and I get a degree. Yes!"

"I still have 8 or more years," Arnold added.

Tish was about to open her mouth but Logan cut her off. "I think you're going to graduate much earlier than us, Tish."

"I was thinking after I get my degree I'm going back to school again to get a degree in marine biology," Tish said.

"You're going back to school again?" Logan cried out.

Tish looked at him with a serious face. "Yes."

Logan just sighed and refrained from saying anything. Suddenly a female screeched. "Chels!! It's HERE!!!"

A sly smile appeared on Tish's lips and both Logan and Patrick groaned. 'I guess his attention wasn't wholly on his magazine.'

Another female screeched, this time the sound came from behind them. A blur ran from behind them and another blur ran in front of them. Both blur met in front of the group. It was Alicia and Chelsea.

"Mouse published another poem," Patrick loudly muttered, "That's the only time Alicia ever gets like this." Morticia detected a hint of jealousy in his voice.

Arnold and Helga looked at the two hysterical females and noticed that Alicia was holding the school newspaper. Then both looked at Patrick.

"Ever since junior high the school paper has been receiving love poems from Anonymous. Or what we call him Mouse," Patrick explained.

It seems Alicia wasn't exactly on dreamland right now for she retorted, "They're just jealous because those two couldn't write a romantic poem in their life. They're not like him."

Chelsea sighs dreamily. "I bet Anonymous is a shy handsome guy who writes about his secret love through poetry. And then when she reads it she knows it's from him and they rendezvous under the moonlit sky and spend the time gazing at the night sky." Logan and Patrick groaned.

"How do you know that Anonymous is a male," Tish asked.

Big mistake. Furious brown and green eyes looked at her. Alicia thrusted the school paper at Tish's hands. She pointed at a particular poem. Tish then read the sad article and then looked at Alicia and Chelsea. "I still don't see why Anonymous should be a male."

Chelsea groaned in frustration. "Look at the way he describes his sweetheart!"

Tish saw Logan and Patrick look at each other and mouth 'sweetheart?' to one another.

Chelsea continued, "And he calls her 'Beloved'! Look at his words!!"

Tish scanned the poem again and then shook her head. Alicia and Chelsea rolled their eyes and sat down. "But I do understand why you and all the other females, with the exception of Helga, swoon at Anonymous' poems. It is quite soul stirring. And the why he or she use the words is very extraordinary."

Helga suddenly sat up. "I agree with Tish. Anonymous might be a boy or a girl. And you don't have to take it severely when someone disagrees with you." She dusted herself and then gathered her things. "And now I have to go. Au revoir, people!" Helga began to walk away.

Alicia's eyes widened. "Is it four already? Helga, wait up!" She quickly gathered her things and ran to catch up to Helga. "Why didn't you tell me it was time already?"

They were already a fair distance away from the group, seeing how Helga was a fast walker, but those gathered under the tree were still able to hear Helga's reply: "And come between you and Anonymous? I don't think so."

Tish looked at the departing two and smiled. Yes, Helga would fit in naturally.

Days had passed since that incident and now the group was in Helga and Lizi's front garden. Actually, The boys were on their hands and knees weeding the front garden, while the girls just sat on the porch watching them.

Having been intrigued by Arnold's success, the group would often visit Lizi's home in order to learn how to garden. On this day though, the boys were the only ones doing any of the work. There was a slight shower, and Helga had announced that Lizi couldn't weed in this type of weather, so Arnold, being the caring guy that he is, volunteered to help out. It had originally started with everyone working. They had all put on old clothes in order to keep their good clothes from getting muddied, but somehow during the weeding process the only people that were left doing any work were the boys.

"I can't believe we're out here in the garden during a rain," Logan complained.

Lizi was seated on the balcony drinking tea. She smirked at Logan. "It's just a little shower, dear. Don't tell me a strong man like you can take a little rain?" Logan became quiet after that.

This time it was a muddy Patrick who complained. "But why must we weed now? Can't we do this tomorrow?"

"Well, I need plenty of help today for the weeding and it's so good of you boys to volunteer." The said boys became quiet. "We can't do it tomorrow since we'll be behind schedule. Tomorrow I have to till the soil to be planted and you know I have a very huge garden."

"I just remembered I have to do a report tomorrow so I can't help you. Sorry," Patrick quickly said.

"Uh me too. I have to do some research," Logan added.

Alicia and Chelsea hid their giggles while Helga and Lizi smirked.

"Don't worry, boys. Helga's going to help me."

"Ouch! That has got to have damaged their male pride," Chelsea whispered to Alicia. Giggles again.

The girls sat around a small circular table, with Alicia sitting at the far left, a little bit behind Chelsea, then Helga and Lizi, followed by Tish at the other end. They were all drinking some form or another of hot liquids. Lizi and Alicia had tea, while Chelsea and Tish had some coffee, and Helga sipped some hot milk.

"I still can't believe the girls can't partake in this," Patrick muttered.

"You know I dislike snails. Specially the one I just saw a while ago," Alicia replied.

Patrick stopped weeding and faced her. "Dislike?! Hah! You're downright terrified of them."

Alicia glared at him but didn't say anything.

Patrick went back to work but wasn't finished with his tirade. "You just saw one snail and then screamed your lungs out. Ow!"

He rubbed his sore head and glared murderously at Alicia. She had a triumphant look on her face. Patrick resumed his work but muttered, "She-demon!"

Arnold looked at Alicia, "You got a good throwing arm there, Alicia. Why don't you join the school's softball, football, or basketball team?"

"You're not helping," Patrick uttered as he turned to glare at Arnold.

Arnold just shrugged. "It'd be a waste of talent. Besides it's a girls team, there's no reason to be jealous." He stopped as if he was thinking. "Although I did hear from my classmates that the coaches are what they call 'hotties'."

"Like I'm jealous." Patrick then went back to weeding. The boys were silent after that.

Meanwhile the girls

Chelsea tugged Alicia's t-shirt. "You shouldn't have thrown that rock at him, Lees."

Alicia scoffed. "He deserved it!"

Lizi looked at the boys then at the girls. She leaned over to Tish and whispered, "Don't you ever get lonely with this group?"

Tish understood her. She shook her head. "Even though they're all couples I feel quite happy being with them." She noticed a strange look in Lizi's face and wondered what's wrong. She became worried when she saw Helga mirror the same look. Tish looked around her, wondering what could possibly be wrong, and that's when she noticed a blonde lady holding an umbrella, walking on the cemented path that led to the house. She was wearing sunglasses and an attire that suggested that she was a very successful businesswoman. She also had a cool and a very aloof air around her.

The lady opened the gate and went in. Her walk slowed down as she noticed that there was a great deal of people present. She stopped in front of the balcony and, removing her sunglasses to reveal cold blue eyes, faced Lizi and Helga.

"Ma, Helga. I see you have visitors so I'll be brief." She took a medium-sized envelope from her purse and presented it to Lizi.

Lizi smiled as she took the envelope. "So you finally settled the wedding date, Olga. I though you'd never get married, you've already postponed your wedding twice."

Olga shrugged. "Calvin's business couldn't help it," she nonchalantly answered.

To the audience the interaction seemed kind of weird. Lizi was very warm to Olga but Olga was just as cool as ever. It was as if Lizi was nothing more than a stranger on the street instead of her grandmother. Helga worriedly looked at Lizi then at Olga. She wanted to say something, to make Olga realize that she was hurting Lizi, but couldn't find any strength to do so.

The silence was unbearable. Olga then began to walk away. "Everything you need to know about the wedding and the reception is right there. See you there, Ma, Helga." She turned and saw the boys. Her eyes stopped on Arnold who was still holding a weed. Olga narrowed her eyes. "You're familiar to me. Yes, you must be Helga's friend from when we used to live in Seattle. Please come to my wedding, Arnold. You could be Helga's date." When he nodded she nodded in return.

"Good bye, everybody. Forgive me for interrupting you."

She was about to open the gate when Lizi called out, "Why don't you stay for a while, Olga? It isn't safe to be driving right now."

Olga faced Lizi and shook her head. "I'm sorry, ma. I have some business to attend to." With that she began to walk back to her car, which was parked in front.

Logan shivered. "Is it just me or did the air suddenly become cold a while ago?"

Patrick punched him in the arm. "Stop that!" he hissed. Logan turned at Patrick with a very confused look but Patrick didn't explain anything to him.

Meanwhile, Arnold just gazed at Helga and Lizi with a very confused face. How could that woman be the always-cheerful Olga Pataki that he used to know? It's like they were two different people. His confusion turned into worry as he continued to look at the two.

After the blonde woman, who the group later found out was Helga's older sister, Olga, left, almost everything went back to normal. The males resumed weeding since they were nearly done and they wanted to finish as soon as possible. The females on the other hand began chatting about their latest visitor. Helga became silent but Lizi answered all their questions freely.

"Forgive me for being rude but is it because of Olga that Helga became a bit err unfriendly?" Alicia asked.

Lizi sipped her now cold tea. "No. Olga became cold just recently when the girls moved here to Canada."

"My coldness stems from a much younger age, as Tish hypothesized when she first met me," Helga added. She faced the path were her sister was as she stroked her mug.

Chelsea and Alicia looked again at Lizi. "Do you know what happened to make her like that?" Chelsea asked.

Lizi sighed and let the cup down on the table. "I'm afraid I don't know."

"When we were still living in our old neighborhood Olga was the only constant sunshine in the family. Even though she was older than I she had her own naiveté. She always looked for the positive side, rarely on the negative. She believed life held only good things for her since that's what she was exposed to. But, when she came here she had problems, one after the other. Since we were immigrants Olga had a hard time finding a job. When she did find a job she had to start at the bottom. Olga couldn't handle all these failures so she became cold, or more specifically, numb."

Helga stopped because she felt six pairs of eyes on her. She looked at all of them in surprise. "What?"

Arnold smiled at her. Helga knew the meaning of his smile and scowled. She also knew what he would likely say so she turned her face away from him.

Alicia and Chelsea sensed another disagreement between the two.

"Helga, could you show Alicia and me the pictures of your friends in PS 118? You've been promising us a long time ago but you haven't fulfilled it yet." Chelsea asked while taking a hold of Helga's arms.

"Sure."

The three girls left.

Lizi turned to Tish. "I recall that Arnold and Helga had another dispute about two days ago. Have they made up yet?"

Tish nodded. "They did, but it looks like they're at it again." Both ladies sighed.

~ Olga's wedding, about a month later, 9:00 AM

Helga and Arnold looked at the huge mansion with awe. They were still inside Helga's Beetle, gazing up at the Victorian style mansion before them. The house was big and the lot even more so. It wasn't really the appearance of the mansion that made it so grand but the immense size. When Helga first saw the mansion she guessed it could house more than a hundred guests.

"Wow," Arnold breathed.

She couldn't help but smirk at him. "That's an understatement."

He turned to look at her with a smile on his face. "Right. Did you remember to bring the invitation?"

Invitation? She looked at him incredulously. Why would he be so worried about a simple piece of cardboard? But Helga felt like indulging him, so she began to remove her seat belt to get her purse, which was at the back of her seat. She heard him get out of the car and walk. 'Must be excited to see the house up close,' she thought to herself.

Helga was just turning around with her small purse in hand when she heard her door open. She saw Arnold grinning maniacally. 'That conniving little...' Helga didn't want to give him the privilege of yelling at him. Instead she just rolled her eyes at him as she went out of the car.

From some unknown place a uniformed valet appeared beside her. She silently gave him the keys and dragged Arnold through the entrance. She looked at him critically. "Are you sure that you're okay with coming here this early?" she asked him. "We are five hours early."

He shook his head. "I get to see your dress for the wedding," he replied eyeing her jeans and blouse.

She scowled at him. Darn him! She was hoping he had forgotten about the dratted dress.

"How come all the secrecy? Even during the practice you didn't tell us when and where it was."

"You're not part of the entourage so I didn't tell you," she coolly answered.

Silence.

Arnold looked at Helga with a worried look on his face. She was looking at anything other than the door and him. "Helga?"

Instead of answering him she faced him and critically analyzed his appearance. For a moment her heart lightened as she saw his attractive face and fine build which his dark gray business attire enhanced. But she had to force those thoughts away, so Helga began dusting off lint and adjusting his necktie.

Arnold noticed her nervousness and smiled softly. "You have to calm down, Helga. The wedding is going to be great and you're going to be a wonderful maid of honor."

She still didn't stop. "It's not that. It's the relatives."

"Your relatives and your brother-in-law's relatives are going to be just fine. I don't think that your brother-in-law's relatives would shun yours."

Helga stopped and let her head lean on his chest. "It's not that either. It's meeting them, again," she softly said. She sighed.

After a second or two she began to notice how comfortable it was being with him. But she stopped herself and moved away. At this movement Arnold felt a brief regret but he didn't say anything aloud.

She gave him a small smile. "My relatives aren't exactly a normal bunch. I've always dreaded having to go to reunions or any sort of special occasion that would gather them all in one place."

He put an arm around her to show his support. "They can't be that bad."

Helga looked at him seriously. "Wait 'till you meet them."

Arnold raised an eyebrow. They couldn't be as bad as she made them out to be... could they?

He wasn't able to pursue this line of thought anymore since Helga had already knocked on the door. A man in a tuxedo answered and led them inside.

If the house from the outside didn't have the grandeur of other mansions, the inside more than made up for it. Almost every decoration, furniture, and style screamed luxury. He also noticed that most of the decorations seem to have come from the Victorian period.

"Arnold?" He faced her and saw her look serious at him. "I can still drive you back and pick you up later, because you won't be able to see me until the ceremony."

He grinned at her. "Why are you adamant about not letting me see your gown until much later?"

Helga rolled her eyes. "It's not that."

She noticed his disbelieving look. "Okay so it' s one of the reasons, but it's not the main reason. I told you before I really don't like wearing gowns or dresses. Especially this one." She muttered the last part softly.

Arnold shook his head. "I know you'd look great in them. Later on during the wedding I bet that everybody will say that you are even more gorgeous than the bride."

Helga laughed at him. "I'll take you up on that bet, Arnoldo. Prepare to lose some big money." But deep inside she was ready to faint. He said she was gorgeous. Or would be gorgeous in the gown. She was about to put an arm around him but stopped. With his words of compliment she was even more aware of her actions and words. She had to stop this!

So instead she gingerly reached for his hand, but once more changed her mind at the last second. In the end, she just grabbed the sleeve of his jacket near his hand and led him from the foyer and into the patio, where judging from the noise is where the people were. There they could see various people milling about and talking amongst themselves. Only a few looked at them when they entered. Those that saw them waved, smiled, or yelled a greeting. Helga just forced a smile and nodded.

A couple immediately went to them. Arnold noticed from the way Helga was tightening her hold on his sleeve that this must be one of Helga's unique relatives. The man was a bit shorter than his wife and had a cropped blonde hair. His wife was a brunette and very much pregnant. Her husband looked like he was really at home in this extravagant mansion, he wore a shirt with no sleeves and shorts, but as for his wife, she was wearing a long flowered dress.

"Hello, Uncle Mather, Aunt Beth," Helga greeted with as much cheerfulness as she could force into her voice. "Have you been staying long in the mansion?"

"Not really, pumpkin. We just arrived yesterday," Uncle Mather replied.

Aunt Beth nodded. "We had to leave your little nieces and nephews behind, we didn't want them to cause trouble in this fine mansion." She paused as she looked around and sighed. Beth quickly added, "Oh, who is this fine young man with us?"

"This is my friend, Arnold. We used to be classmates when we were younger," Helga answered.

The couple nodded. "Are you two going to be next after Olga?" Helga's uncle crudely asked.

Helga paled and Arnold's eyes widened. "We're not like that, Uncle Mather." She looked around for the other guests and stopped at a particular person. "Oh look there's Vivian! I'll see you later!" Helga dragged Arnold away.

It was in this way that Helga spent the hour, jumping from relative to relative, trying to avoid embarrassment in the process. Vivian, Helga's niece, mostly giggled throughout the conversation and blatantly flirted with Arnold. One of Helga's bachelor uncles was from the military and kept talking about the past wars and battles. Meanwhile Arnold was enjoying himself meeting Helga's colorful relatives. And most of these colorful relatives always deduced that he and Helga were a couple. During some of the introductions Arnold even put an arm around Helga and nodded an affirmative to their accusations. But Helga wasn't taking his little jokes lightly, she would scowl or glare at him and sometimes would threaten to deck him right then and there. To Helga's relatives this appeared to be just a little lover's spat and even teased them further. Even though Helga would react this way she would never remove his arm from around her or release his hold on her hand. From across the room a pair of angry blue eyes specially noted this.

After parting ways with one of Helga's many relatives, Arnold noticed that Helga was looking around rather apprehensively. He voiced his concern to Helga.

"I saw one of my cousins. I thought he would arrive much later," was her brief answer.

Helga's eyes wandered from person to person. He looked at her with puzzlement in her face but didn't say anything. Suddenly...

"Cousin Helga!"

"Criminey!" Helga quickly uttered, but she slowly turned around and faced the new comer, a forced smile plastered on her face.

"Hello, Auguste!"

Auguste quickly hugged Helga, and because of his vast size managed to make her seem so much smaller. He turned to Arnold who was watching this spectacle with a hint of amusement. August grinned, "Ah is this your date? Hello, I'm Auguste Pataki, one of Helga's many cousins. By now you may now have noticed that we are a huge family."

Arnold shook his offered hand. "Arnold."

Auguste let go of his hand and smiled. "Finally you have found a special someone!"

Helga just nodded and began to tug at Arnold's hand. "Right. Well, we have to go. Bye, Auguste!"

"Wait! You have to let me..."

She began to strongly tug Arnold's arm. "Maybe later."

"Helga Geraldine Pataki! If you don't let me finish what I want to say I will talk to your date later."

To Arnold's ears that didn't sound much like a threat but that statement made Helga shudder a bit and stop. He heard her utter to herself about being born into a different genetic pool as she slowly turned around and walked back to Auguste. "Go ahead," she wearily said.

Auguste smiled and quickly took Helga's left hand and Arnold's right hand. He looked into both of their eyes. About a minute had already passed and Arnold wondered what he was doing. He seemed like he was measuring them.

Finally, "Your relationship...your relationship is like a pure white cloth with rust stains. Adversity in the form of soap and water will continue to come your way, but you must cling to each other." He paused and looked much deeper into their eyes. "The love between you two is great. Greater than some couples. Because of this great love you would challenge to the extreme but you must not lose hope in your love. Never lose hope."

The love between them? Arnold took a quick glance at Helga and saw her. He recalled what she looked like when they were young: pigtails, pink ribbon, and overalls. She had always had a scowl on her face but there were moments that she would laugh, and he noted that her face would light up. Helga was a bully, bossy, and sarcastic even to her best friend. Everyone would say that she was a bad girl.

The Helga that he knew now still scowled. She was still bossy and sarcastic, but somehow she wasn't a bully anymore. Patrick and the others knew what she was and accepted her. Even though sometimes Helga kept to herself she would always know the right words to say. With her sarcastic personality she would liven up the group. Now he noticed that she would often do this when they didn't have anything to say or when they were down.

Helga was all these things to him but how come Auguste said that there was a great love between them? It was occurring right now. Was it? He considered her as a friend but he couldn't hide to himself there were times that it seemed like it was more. Did he love her? And does she love him?

He felt his arm being slightly pulled. Arnold looked at Helga, she was smiling and slowly backing away. "Hmm, thanks for the prediction, Auguste. We'll keep that in mind. See you later!" And once again he was dragged.

This time Helga dragged him back to the foyer. She looked around and saw no one so she released him and plopped down on the antique sofa. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again and grinned at him. Helga patted the space beside her. Arnold quietly sat down.

"Whew! We got off easy with my cousin. I thought he would say something much worse." She laughed. "Rust stains in a pure whit cloth indeed! I wonder where he learned astrology? Probably in one of those lame Do-It-Yourself books." She laughed again.

Arnold looked at Helga. Maybe he should handle this like she did. He was just taking all of what Auguste had said a little too seriously. He began to smile at the absurdity of her cousin's predictions.

Helga noticed this. "I thought you were taking him too seriously, football head." She chuckled. "You looked like you discovered something big." Helga laughed again as her eyes wondered up at the doorway where the footman was ushering a new guest in.

He noticed her eyes lit up. "Uncle Fred! Aunt Linda!" She quickly walked to them and hugged them. From her reaction, these must be the relatives Helga actually liked. He watched them talk to each other and judging from their reactions it must have been a long time since they last saw each other. Moments later Helga remembered him and called him over.

"Aunt Linda, Uncle Fred this is my friend Arnold," Helga said when he was beside her. They shook hands with him. "I was really waiting for you, Aunt Linda, because I wanted to ask you if it's okay if I leave Arnold to you and Uncle Fred. I'm just going to be fixed-up for the wedding."

Linda and Fred laughed. "You couldn't trust the others right. Sure go ahead. Arnold's in safe hands," Linda exclaimed.

"Run along, Helga." Fred paused. "I'm sure Arnold's going to love what you're going to wear later on."

Helga groaned and just waved a goodbye to both of them. As for Arnold, "Don't believe anything they say." And then she was gone.

Linda linked one of her arms in Arnold's. "Where do you want me to start? When she was a baby or when she was much older?"

Helga closed the door and leaned on it. Her heart was still beating so fast. Ever since her dear cousin's predictions she felt like she wanted to hide herself far far away from any civilized people. Of all the predictions he had to say why did he have to say that particular one. What had Arnold thought when he heard it? She recalled his stupefied reaction and hoped he wasn't disgusted with her.

And what had she thought of it? For one blissful moment she was floating on air. She and Arnold have a love so great and deep? Just the idea alone of Arnold loving her would be perfect but the two of them the greatest couple? It was beyond perfection.

But realization set in and as she looked at his reactions. He was as still as a rock with an expression you couldn't even paint. It seemed like he was shocked. Her elation was replaced by desolation. Arnold didn't like her in that way. They will be forever be just friends.

It was a good thing he reacted that way. It woke her up from a near daydream. If he should ever know that she loved him it would be disastrous. And now that she knew he didn't feel the same way it would be a catastrophe.

"Helga, are you all right?"

Helga looked up and saw her sister sitting in front of a mirror wearing a tight bodice and an underskirt. A male hairstylist was fussing over the curls in her hair, checking to see if any of the hair came loose. A manicurist was gingerly painting her fingernails on her right hand.

Helga looked around and saw that the room was pristine with the exception of the area near Olga, which was littered with make-up and other accessories. On top of the bed were two 17^th century English gowns. Helga shuddered. It was the gown that the bride and the maid-of-honor would wear. Both gowns were pastel in color; Olga had more of a light green and yellow combination while Helga had a light pink and white combination. Like other gowns from the same century, these gowns were graceful in outline and made of lighter fabrics. But, Olga's gown had a very long train while Helga's didn't.

Helga didn't like to wear gowns but that wasn't the big reason she abhorred her outfit. It was the gown's very low neckline and tight fit to her body that made her shudder at the sight of the dress. Helga unconsciously raised her blouse up to her neck at very thought of the neckline.

"Are you okay?" Olga repeated.

Helga faced Olga and nodded an affirmative. Olga turned to the mirror once again. "Good. We've been waiting for you to come. Philippe has been waiting for you especially." She indicated the hairstylist that was fussing at her hair.

The pony tailed hairstylist nodded. "Oui, Mademoiselle Helga." He took another chair from across the room and placed it beside Olga, forcing the make-up artist to go away. The manicurist muttered something in French but didn't say anything out loud. Philippe either didn't notice this or ignored her, and just asked Helga to sit down. Helga complied.

Philippe removed the ponytail holder Helga was wearing and gently fluffed her hair. Judging from his facial expression he was thinking of an appropriate hairstyle for her hair.

"What took you so long?" Olga asked without looking at Helga.

Helga watched Philippe comb her hair in the mirror. "I had to leave Arnold with a reliable relative."

"Oh." She paused. "So Aunt Linda and Uncle Fred just arrived."

Olga's cool and unattached voice reminded her Helga why she hated her older sister now. That Arctic attitude of hers is hurting their grandmother and still she kept on acting that way. Helga had kept her own mouth shut for years because she feared hurting Lizi further with a fight. Deep inside she wanted to badly slap her sister.

Helga remembered the day Olga personally delivered the invitations to them. She recalled the meaningful smile and look Arnold gave her. The former showed how close she was to Olga (which she abhorred being known publicly) and that she was to talk to her sister (although she would rather confess Arnold the truth first). Like her earlier reaction to him, Helga would rather snub him rather than listen. Who cares if Olga destroys her marriage if she continues with that kind of attitude? It wasn't her life. Helga took a quick glance at Olga.

In reality it was. It was also her life that she would be hurting because Arnold was right. Olga was her sister, even though she hated her being the center of attention and making her nearly nonexistent at home. Hated that she got the perfect life while she got the opposite when they were young. She was after all her sister. Helga internally blanched. And she loved her.

Helga took another quick glance at Olga. She was watching the manicurist paint her nails. Better begin now. "Do you love him?"

At those words everybody looked at her. The room had gone remarkably quiet as everyone stared at her, startled expressions on their faces. This was only a temporary thing since Philippe, the manicurist, and the make-up artist went back to work. As for Olga, she answered her in her usual unemotional voice. "Of course."

Helga just looked at her sister's reflection in the mirror. "Really? Could have fooled me."

Olga must have noted the sarcastic tone and raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing, Helga?"

Helga softly mimicked her sister's words and tone and added, "Just asking."

"And why, pray tell, would you ask that question on my wedding day?" Helga noticed that Olga's voice had a touch of anger in it.

She shrugged. "Well, it's the only time I could talk to you." She saw Olga flinched. Helga gave a slight grin. At that grin Olga became evidently angry.

Even though Philippe and the others didn't understand much of their words they could sense the hostility between the sisters. They all stopped working and began to back away. Philippe muttered a brief excuse; something about getting hungry and that he'll be back later. He quickly went to the door with the manicurist and the make-up artist at his heels.

Olga turned to her sister and glared at her. "Look at what you've done! It takes a long time for both of us to be fixed-up!"

Another nonchalant shrug. "My fault? I'm not the one getting angry." Helga paused. "Besides, you can just postpone the wedding again."

"Are you implying that the wedding was postponed because of me?"

"Well, it does come to mind. I mean I've never seen you hold hands with him except for appearances' sake. And I wonder how many times you've said 'I love you' to him and kissed him." She paused and looked into Olga's eyes. "Maybe you just don't love him. His love for you I can see, but as for you..." Helga sighed.

Olga shot up and clenched her fists. "How dare you accuse me of not loving him?! I do love him! I hated the world that asked too much of me before I met him. Be this! Be that!" Olga flung her arms in frustration. "All my life, I had to strive much harder than you do. I had to be perfect! I MUST be perfect. I am THE ideal student, the ideal daughter."

Her voice fell and she looked down. She slowly sat down again and looked at her, silently asking Helga to apologize to her.

But Helga just looked at her in a perfectly calm face as if the outburst earlier were a natural occurrence. "You're singing an old song, Olga. That may be what you're saying to yourself but I know that you overcame that problem before we came here." Sensing her sister shaking with anger, she stood up. Helga slowly went to the bed, which was much nearer to the door, and sat down in a space not occupied by their gowns.

Helga looked all around her and then settled her eyes on her sister's. "I, for one, believe that you don't have any strength at all. But don't react just yet..." Helga quickly added since she saw Olga's face contorted in anger. "Oh sure you've had trophies on the wall and medals to display. You're extremely talented, smart, and had a personality that made most people love you. For the first years in your life everything went your way; and you were a little Mary Sunshine."

"But you see, Olga, you can't always be on top. As someone said, 'Life is like a wheel. There are times when we are on top and there are times when we are below.' And when you are given trials that seem too hard, you just give up, expecting that it will get better. But it won't unless you do something. And what do you do when trials come? You shut yourself. You let yourself be numb. You've become a Gloomy Gus." Helga scoffed. "Like that'll solve your problems."

Silence.

Helga stood up, turned her back to Olga and slowly walked towards the door. She was about to touch the doorknob when she heard Olga's voice say, "You're just jealous. I'm getting married today to a rich, handsome, and caring man while you're hoping Arnold will notice you." Olga's voice became mocking. "I know how you've pined for him ever since grade school. But you see, I have someone who loves me while you don't. You. Envy. Me." She stressed the last three words.

The hand that nearly touched the doorknob shook. Ouch. Those were the very exact words that would deeply inflict her because Olga was right. She was jealous of her. Ever since she was young she dreamed of marrying Arnold. It wasn't just because she loved him (she did truly love him) but because having grow up with him she knew all his faults and accepted them. Helga knew that if she was given a chance, that Arnold would learn to love her, she would be the best other half there was. But Fate hadn't granted her that wish and she would just have to live with it.

Words were already forming in her brain for a comeback but she held herself back. Olga was just distracting her. Removing her attention from what really was at hand. She held the doorknob and slowly turned it. "When you announced that you were marrying your boss I was jealous, but I'm not anymore. Because if you continue being like this, well, it's going to end in a divorce." The door opened and she went out. She was just closing the door when she heard something smash the door. It sounded like pottery of some kind.

Helga slowly leaned back on the door and looked down on the wooden floor. Her placid attitude was gone and weariness came.

"Thank you."

Helga looked up and saw a tall and very handsome man with a very muscular built. Judging by his face and body structure he was British, but his words didn't have a British accent. It was more like an American, and at the moment he was wearing white shirt and breeches.

He talked again, his baritone voice displaying warmth. "I wanted to talk to her but you beat me to it. Thank you again, sister." He slightly bowed.

Helga stood up and grinned. "You don't get to call me sister until after the wedding." She paused and became serious. "You're welcome. Somebody had to knock some sense into her."

Calvin Barton grinned. "If I hadn't heard everything I would have been worried by what you just said." He pointed to the door to the right of the room she had just came out of. "Why don't you go in? Philippe, Marcie, and Monique will tend to you. After that you can tell them to go back to Olga."

Helga nodded her thanks and waved at him before she opened the door and went in.

Even though a while ago she had been very confident that Olga would get past her anger and understand what was wrong with her, Helga was very nervous as she waited by the door that led outside to the gardens. Yes, her sister was going to have a garden wedding. But Helga still didn't know what the decorations were like since she had spent the remaining three hours being pampered and fixed. Darn her romantic sister for choosing a Victorian theme for her wedding. She hadn't experienced being babied but now she vowed she wouldn't let that experience ever happen again. Her hair hurt from being pulled too much (that Philippe would never be a great nurse) and then her eyebrows. She nearly punched that man for plucking too much of her eyebrows. (Helga thought that dividing her unibrow into two would spare her from another trip with the tweezers but no...) And then there was the darn corset--she couldn't breathe normally. Then there was the matter of the plunging neckline. Right now no one could see it since she was wearing a light pink cloak. But when she first beheld herself in the mirror she wanted to remove it immediately. It was really REALLY deep. Well, for her anyway. Philippe said she was perfect. Marcie had wondered if plastic surgery would produce the same results on her, and Monique stated that she envied her flattering figure. Helga would have listened to them if they weren't being paid.

And now that the entourage had been waiting for the bride for about ten minutes. She still couldn't see what the gardens had been transformed into. The patio doors were covered with thick curtains that you couldn't see through, and Helga was too nervous to take a peek.

'Now where is she?' She was so nervous she was mentally babbling to herself. What really mattered to her was the wedding. Would it really be postponed? Or even worse, canceled?

She was starting to regret her earlier words to her sister when she felt long arms encircle her waist. She had been having a tough time breathing before, now she couldn't breathe, period. Helga slightly turned around to see who was hugging her. She saw a blonde with ribbons on both sides of the head, with curls tumbling down. A blonde wearing a very extravagant white 17^th century Victorian wedding dress.

"Thank you, baby sister." A smile wove through Helga's lips.

The wedding went off without a major hitch. Helga's relatives acted with extreme civility and sophistication (much to her relief) and Olga was her usual sunny self (although she had to roll her eyes and mimic gagging movements whenever Olga sweetly thanked a guest for coming).

The only problem that they encountered was when the entourage was about to march. The wedding coordinator saw that she was still wearing her cloak and politely asked her to remove it.

Helga shook her head.

Again the coordinator asked Helga, reasoning that she would damage the balance of the entourage by wearing a cloak while marching.

Helga declined.

This time the coordinator was already near begging but since Helga was stubborn it did him no good. He was ready to throttle Helga when Olga butted in and politely asked her sister to remove the cloak. A few minutes of staring was what ensued, and then finally Helga gave the cloak to the coordinator who looked ready to stick out his tongue at Her. (A good thing he didn't since Helga so wanted to punch him).

The march took place and Helga was rubbing her arms so much that the glove she was wearing nearly thinned. The fact that the best man was constantly looking at her (more specifically at one particular part of her) wasn't helping. She tried to ignore Calvin's best friend but her temper wasn't very long to begin with. When she was ready to explode she narrowed her eyes at her partner and said in a very low voice to quit it. He quickly nodded and faced the front. His hold on Helga loosened but she didn't notice it. When it was finally their turn to march her agitation increased tenfold. She bit her lip and decided to get it over with.

It wasn't so bad. Calvin's relatives just looked at her and only a few whispered. On the other hand, her relatives had huge smiles on their faces like that of the Cheshire cat. If it wasn't for the fact that it would destroy the wedding she would have yelled at them. And then there was also Arnold... it wasn't that bad (okay it was bad, but she had to be cool and calm about it) his jaw was nearly hanging on the floor (since he was sitting in the middle of the second row) but her dear, sweet Aunt Linda had to make a huge ceremony of closing his mouth. During the wedding she could feel his eyes were constantly on her but it didn't give her the feeling of disgust. It was something else... She didn't discover it until the last part of the wedding--he was proud of her.

Even though the theme was Victorian style the wedding ceremony was very much modern. Olga cried during the ceremony and Calvin immediately offered his handkerchief. Helga could hear sighs of envy from among the younger female population. And when it was over Helga once again calmly walked down the aisle and immediately went to her chair.

She looked at the scenery around her. The reception was just beside the place where the wedding had taken place. Like the wedding place, the reception was covered with orchids, roses, and lilacs. It surrounded the long table were the bride and the entire entourage would sit down. The flowers also decorated the tabletops of the guests. And as for the guests, they were already walking around, mingling with one another.

Helga sighed. Do all weddings take this long? She sighed again.

"You're not used to weddings aren't you?"

Helga turned around and saw Logan, still as handsome as ever in a white tuxedo. "What're you doing here?"

He grinned at her. "A female cousin of Calvin was my former classmate during junior high. She invited me."

Helga nodded. "Oh."

Logan bowed deeply at her. "My lady, you look smashing in your gown."

Helga laughed and waved her hand at him. "Thank you for the compliment, but I think you got your words wrong. The word 'smashing' wasn't used until much later. Since my dress was from the 17^th cen..."

"Ugh. Helga, please can I attend a single occasion where I don't have to be reminded of formal learning?"

Helga laughed again. "Fine. Fine." She paused as she noticed a young woman looking around for someone. "I think you're date is looking for you."

Logan looked in the direction where Helga was looking and said, "Well, see you later."

"Right."

The wedding reception had already begun and everyone was enjoying themselves. The Patakis was being their usual spirited selves and they were little by little influencing the Bartons. By nightfall the reception was turning into a lively party. Helga gave a small smile and shook her head. If every Pataki were to marry every single family on earth, what a planet this would be.

She noticed that her sister was gathering every single female. Helga knew what was about to happen and quickly went inside the house. She climbed up the stairs and directly went to the small oval balcony that oversaw the reception. She would watch the bouquet tossing at a safe distance. A very safe distance.

Helga sat sideways on the marble seat and leaned down. She watched her sister futilely search for her. She gave a soft laugh.

"Even after all these years you still like to give your sister a hard time."

She didn't need to turn around because she knew who it was. Helga just shrugged. She knew he was just teasing her. She felt him sit beside her and gave an inward smile. Whenever Arnold was around she felt a very comforting warmth.

Her eyes remained watching the bouquet tossing in progress and the cheers of the audience. "Are you okay with all of this?" she asked softly.

She turned to see him looking at her with a confuse face. The answer must have come to him because, "Oh. You mean with all of your relatives coming from all round the world and the close relationship between them?" He looked at her, smiled and shook his head. "You don't have to worry, Helga. I'm fine."

Helga scoffed. "Fine, my foot!"

Arnold laughed softly. "I keep forgetting how deep you know me. You're right, I did feel slightly envious of you but I've accepted the fact that the only family I know are my grandparents."

She looped her right arm with his left one and softly said, "Hey, it's okay to tell me. I may not have tall black hair and dark colored skin but I can also be trusted." Her serious voice was replaced with a teasing tone. "How many times do I have to tell you that?" Arnold laughed.

Silence. Both of them turned to watch the ongoing reception. Arnold broke it, "Your relatives may seem a bit weird but deep down I know they're nice people."

"Yup, but it's very deep down," Helga added. Arnold chuckled.

Silence again.

"Are you thirsty?"

Helga looked at him. "Arnold, if you're thirsty why don't you just get yourself a drink. I'll just be right here." She continued again when she saw him open his mouth. "And I know you were just being polite. Look, just get me whatever you have."

"You are a very hard person to please, Helga," was all Arnold said. Helga laughed as he went away.

Only a few minutes had passed since Arnold left and Helga watched the reception to pass the time. She felt another presence behind her. "Arn..." She paused as she turned around and saw who it was. Helga was disappointed for a second but smiled again. "Come to enjoy the scenery from above, Logan?"

Logan sat beside her, right in the spot where Arnold had been sitting, and nodded. "Yeah. I noticed that you were gone from the party. You're sister was looking for you."

Helga shrugged. "Yes, I know. I just didn't want to participate in the bouquet tossing. It just isn't my thing."

Silence.

"Why are you so attached to him?"

Helga looked at him in confusion. His voice was serious and didn't have the usual teasing tone.

"What does Arnold have that I don't?"

They had already patched things up even though they didn't have a very good first meeting. And ever since then they had become friends, they weren't the closest of friends but they had come to an understanding--he didn't flirt with her and they'd get along fine. Well, it seemed to Helga that they met an understanding. Why was he saying these words to her now?

"Answer me, Helga."

She looked at him with mixed emotions. She was still confused, but he was her friend after all. She couldn't yell to him or result to physical violence. So, Helga decided to back off, pretend that she didn't hear what he just said. So she stood up, faced him and gently smiled. "I have to go down. I guess it's time for me to attend the reception."

She began to leave him but he immediately took a hold of her arm. Helga turned to face him. "I have to go now, Logan."

Instead of letting her go, Logan stood up and made her face him. He firmly held her shoulders as he said, "Tell me why he's much better than me. I know I'm far cuter than he is. I'm nice and friendly. And I know you like me. We've been getting along fine these past two years, unlike your relationship with him. You always get ticked off with him and you constantly fight with each other. Now tell me, why do you still favor him over ME?!"

While he was saying his litany his hold on her shoulders was tightening. Helga just winced and said nothing. He was jealous of Arnold but it made her wonder how come he knew she loved Arnold? Was she that obvious?

"He's a know-it-all, insensitive jerk that kept you hanging..."

Helga's eyes widened. Did Arnold know she love him and if he did would he really do that to her?

"...He may be an all-around athlete but he's also full of himself..."

He was confident she knew that. He was the member of almost all the sports available in the school but somehow he manages to do excellent performance in all of them. She had watched all his games and knew first hand how good he was. She also knew that plenty of females had a crush on him. Logan had nailed it right on the head, even though it wasn't what he really meant--Arnold would never like her. There were too many females out there that were far more suitable for him.

"...And the way he sticks his nose into other people's business, it's as if he's the ultimate savior; that we can't make a single mistake without him lecturing us..."

Her eyes narrowed. Even though he showed that Arnold would never love her that didn't mean that he had to degrade Arnold to her face. She knew his faults, but they weren't any of those that Logan mentioned. He was too much of a romantic and way too naïve. Normally, Arnold wouldn't stand a chance in this harsh world. But, if there was a war between Arnold and the world, on who could change whom, Helga knew Arnold would win.

But she was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't realize that Logan wasn't holding her by the shoulders anymore. He held her hands at her back, which made her a little bit closer to him. Helga sensed what was happening when she was already near him. She quickly tried to wiggle away from him but he held her close to him. Then she tried to remove his hold on her but his hands were clamped tight.

"Maybe..."

Helga looked at him but didn't stop trying to break free.

"Maybe if I kiss you you'd change your mind."

Her eyes widened and she quickly reacted. Since he held her hands she resorted to her legs. Helga kicked him on the groin and quickly turned around to kick him once again this time on the chest. He fell back and hit the side of the balcony. Logan was knocked unconscious.

Helga kneeled down beside him to check if he was breathing normally. He was fine. She looked at his face. 'Well, so much for not resorting to violence.'

The night was calm once again. The voices and the music from the reception drifted back into the balcony once more. Helga was still kneeling beside Logan and became calm little by little. It was probably because of this that she sensed another presence with them. Helga looked up and saw a very agitated Arnold. When her eyes met his he seemed to wake up as if in a trance and immediately left. Helga looked at where she last saw him, wanting to follow him but deciding otherwise. He was Arnold after all. He took care of others so he can take care of himself.