Insert something witty here….
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
[Chapter 9: I'm not that girl….]
"Oh Helga! I'm so glad you're safe!" The tiny Asian girl tackled her to the ground in a tight hug. "Ow!" Helga cried out in pain, it seemed that everyone didn't want to be gentle with her tonight. "I'm sorry Helga! I didn't mean to be so rough!" Phoebe snapped back up but Helga only shook her head "No, Pheebs it's okay I just got, a little banged up back there" she said lifting her shirt to reveal the gauze wrapped around her waist. Phoebe gasped at the blood soaking through the brown material and the others came running towards her. "What in the criminey happened to you girl!" Big Bob cried in worry, Stella and Miles ran over with Arnold. "Here, honey let me take a look at that" Miles helped her to her feet and unwrapped the bloodied gauze. He examined the gash and grimaced slightly at the sign of a small infection brewing. "Did you get stabbed by a shard of glass?" he asked, noticing the depth and consistency of the wound, she nodded. "Well, it doesn't look too bad, it seems to have gone through pretty deep but missed any of your organs, thankfully… But you definitely need stitches and some antibiotics to treat that infection… I suggest you get to a hospital pretty quickly" he informed, it was a pretty big deal but wasn't life threatening unless she let it go completely untreated.
"Well, the rain's seemed to let up a little, I'll be more than happy to get you an ambulance over there" One of the officers who was standing in the doorway called to them. Helga nodded "Phoebe, will you ride with me?" she asked softly, Phoebe nodded "Of course I will" she hugged her best friend. "Well, I'll meet you there" Gerald said not wanting to leave his girlfriend's side, and Arnold wanted to go because he needed to talk to Helga…. "Mom, dad I'm going to go with Gerald and Phoebe if that's okay" he turned to them; they both gave warm smiles and nodded. The two boys piled into Big Bob's truck and Phoebe and Helga piled into the back of an ambulance, finding themselves at the hospital in no time. They sat in the waiting room for what it seemed like hours, because of the flood there were a bunch of accidents, people getting hurt, and even a few fatalities that they had to deal with before they could see Helga.
"Pataki, Helga?" a nurse called from the doorway, everyone stood up and followed her over to the small framed woman and she chuckled lightly. "I'm sorry, but I can only allow you and two others to come back" she said looking at Helga to make her choice. "Phoebe…" she began but Phoebe had cut her off "I'm going in with you" she said sternly, refusing to leave her best friends side. Helga didn't necessarily want Bob to come in, but it was pointless for tall hair boy to go in… And she would rather that glass had sever some main arteries, and caused her to bleed out than to have to deal with the awkwardness of being around Arnold, especially after what had happened back there. "I have to go take care of the bill, but I'm sure you'll be fine without me girl, good luck" Big Bob said as he walked away, towards the front desk, they all looked to Gerald who waved his hands back and forth. "Don't look at me; I hate the sight of blood… I'll just stay here and make sure Mr. Pataki doesn't kill anyone" he said as they all turned their attention to see a raging Big Bob Pataki screaming at a very frightened receptionist.
"Well, guess you're stuck with me, Helga" Arnold said with the biggest smile he could possibly muster. The nurse smiled at the teenagers and led them back into the ER, she had Helga change into a white hospital gown and lay down on the bed while she inserted an IV and took her vitals. She inspected the wound, cleaned it and bandaged it with white gauze while they waited for the Dr. to come in and stitch her up. "Dr. Helter will be in with you shortly" she said as she wrote on her notepad and left the room.
They all sat in silence, Helga twirling her thumbs around each other while Phoebe and Arnold took their seats in the two chairs. The silence was uncomfortable for Arnold and Helga, and Phoebe was just completely oblivious. "Helga…. Can we talk…?" Arnold finally managed to force himself to say. Phoebe took that as her cue to leave "Um, Helga, I'm going to go get something from the vending machine, would any of you like something?" she asked. Helga nodded "Surprise me, Pheebs"
"No, thank you… I'm good" Arnold said softly, not turning his gaze from Helga. Phoebe nodded and slipped out the door, leaving the two alone. There it was again, that silence… it was horrifying and filled her to the brim with gut wrenching anxiety. "Criminey, can you just say something already football head!" she finally burst, causing him to jump slightly. "Sorry, Helga! It's just that… you said you love me… and this is not the first time… and thats a pretty strong word..." he couldn't figure out what to say, in fact he couldn't even figure out his own feelings. All he knew was that when it came to this particular girl, he found himself being overly protective of her. Whenever he was away from her he found himself in a darker place. She was his tormentor, and yet if anything ever happened to her he wouldn't know what to do with himself. She was a Devil and an Angel all at the same time, she upset him, and she made him happy. However, he couldn't decipher what it all meant; after all he was only seventeen!
"Arnold, cut the crap… You know I've loved you since we were in pre-k… Unless you're just that naïve…" she said plainly, there was no need for hiding things anymore, it was out in the open, for the second time. He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to collect his feelings "Helga… I'm sorry, but I think it would be better if we were just friends… is that okay?" he asked nervously, waiting for the emotional outburst. She just laughed cynically to herself and shook her head "I've gone for fourteen years, just being your friend, Arnold… I'm sure I can handle eighty more…" she said in a melancholy voice, hinting that she would love him till the day she died. "Helga… I-"
"Hello, Ms. Pataki?" a voice was heard as a tall man walked in the door. He was gorgeous, pale skin, light blue eyes, dark hair, and teeth that were white as pearls. He must've only been about twenty-five tops. "Yes?" she asked dreamily, staring at him. Arnold showed a hint of jealousy beneath his glorious features. "Dr. Helter wont be joining us today, he was a little caught up in surgery… But my name is Dante, and I'm well equipped to stitch you up and have you on your way if you don't mind" he said flashing her a flirty smile. She nodded "I trust you, stitch away" she said and lay back on her hospital bed. He gracefully made his way over to her, putting on some gloves and grabbing his sterilized tools. "I'm going to numb you up a bit before we begin, okay?" he said and injected a small amount of fluid directly into the IV. Within minutes she was completely numb and he began stitching her up. "Boy, this sure is a nasty cut you got here, how'd this happen?" he asked curiously, meeting her gaze.
"We got trapped in our school's basement…" She said turning her gaze to Arnold, who seemed to be burning with jealousy at the fact that Helga and this older man were flirting right after the conversation they JUST had about Helga being in love with him! "Who's we?" Dante asked curiously but then noticed Helga's gaze turn to Arnold, who was sitting with his arms crossed over his chest. "Ah, I see… Is that your boyfriend?" he asked with a small smirk, trying to figure out if Helga was single or not. Her heart dropped into her stomach and she blushed deeply, averting her gaze from the two men "Actually, we're just friends… Isn't that right Arnold-o" she spat her words out venomously and Arnold just glared. "That's right, Helga" he said and sort of turned his nose up, looking away angrily.
Had he really made the right decision here? Did he really only think of her as a friend? How could he not? This was the girl who had bullied him for years, called him football head, poured paint on him, and tried to sabotage all his dates with other girls… However, when she let that nice side of her show, he had to admit she was sweet as honey. He was between a rock and a hard place here, and he just couldn't figure out his own feelings… Not to mention, Helga was an intense person… Really intense… And he was laid back and calm, and liked peace and quiet… He knew that being with Helga would probably be a big headache… But then, on the other hand, he sort of liked her fiery passion, and it would definitely spice things up! Argh! She was so frustrating! No girl had ever made him think this hard… It was annoying and exciting all at the same time…
"Well, beautiful you're all done!" Dante said sweetly, his compliment caused Helga to blush and look away "I didn't feel a thing!" she said with her own sweet tone. Arnold scoffed and stood up "How long does she have to stay here?" he asked. Dante checked her vitals once more and bandaged her up "Well, there's really not much more we can do so I'd say you're just about done. I just need to give you these prescriptions that Dr. Helter wrote out for you. One is for pain, it's a little stronger than aspirin, and the other is a cream to put on it, to help with minor infection" he said with a smile, handing her the papers. "And you should be on your way, be safe tonight… The streets are still a bit bad out there" he said as Helga grabbed her things and walked towards the door. "Thanks" she said with a small smile. Her smile was too beautiful for words, and this was too good an opportunity to pass up. "Helga, if it's not too forward of me, I would like to ask you out to dinner and a movie, my treat?" he asked with a sly smile. This was perfect! She could go out on a couple dates with this guy, show him off a little, and brag all about him to everyone at school! This would surely make Arnold jealous! At least she had hope.
She stole a quick glance at Arnold who was fuming and she snickered to herself "I'd love to" she said with a small smile, he handed her a pen and she wrote his number down on his hand before heading out the door. Arnold walked her down to the bathroom so she could change her clothes; he was silent the entire time. Helga seemed amused by his sudden tinge of jealousy, snickering to herself all the while. She changed her clothes in the women's bathroom and they met Phoebe, Gerald and Big Bob back at the waiting room. It was already passed ten in the morning and they were all very tired, considering most of them had been up over 24 hours now… Bob dropped Gerald off at Phoebe's and then took Arnold to the boarding house "Well see'ya, Alfred…" Bob saluted as Arnold stepped out of the car "Thanks, Mr. Pataki…" he said and turned to Helga, he rubbed the back of his neck nervously "Um… Helga?"
"Yes, Arnold?"
"We can still be friends… Right?"
"Y-yeah… I'd rather have you in my life as a friend then not at all…"
And with that they drove down the road and out of sight.
The weather had let up within the next day, and by the time Arnold finally decided to wake up, most of the water had already dried up. The events of the day before had played over and over again in his head, he was trying to decipher whether or not it was real… He dragged himself out of bed and to the kitchen where his grandparent and parents sat. They were all happy to see him finally out of bed. "And so the dead has risen!" Miles sang teasingly, greeting his son. Arnold laughed tiredly and nodded "Yeah… I guess I was passed due for some good shut eye" he said with a yawn, stretching like a cat. Gerdie skipped over happily, placing a cup of black coffee and some toast in front of him "Eat up, Tex… You need it after all you've been through!" she patted him on the back and joined them at the table. Arnold chugged down his coffee and nibbled at his toast, after everything that had happened between him and Helga had his stomach in knots, and he didn't have much of an appetite.
"So, how is Helga doing by the way? Did everything at the hospital turn out alright?" Stella asked as she took a sip of her coffee, smiling brightly. "Yeah, they gave her stitches and some medication, said she would heal pretty well" he said, trying not to think about her very much. "Oh, Eleanor! How is she these days?" Gerdie interrupted quite excitedly upon the mention of Helga's name. Grandpa looked up from his paper "Oh, you mean that little girl with the one eyebrow?" he asked just catching the last bit of the conversation. Arnold was about to say something but was interrupted by his father "that Helga's turned into a real looker, eh, son?" he winked, nudging Arnold in the side. This comment caused the yellow haired boy to blush and he just nibbled on his toast a bit more, trying to ignore the conversation.
Why was his family so interested in Helga all of a sudden? He just didn't understand. Wanting to avoid any more idle chatter regarding Helga he stood up and excused himself to his room, using the excuse that he was still tired from the passed events and needed to lay down for a while. When he made his way back up to his room he flopped down onto his bed and stared up at the sky. He had to figure out a way to get Helga off his mind, he didn't even know why he was stressing over her so badly anyway! It didn't make sense! Nothing seemed to be making sense lately, and he was starting to wonder if leaving the jungle had been such a good idea after all…
"Arnold! Phone call!" a voice called from downstairs. Arnold groaned and dragged himself down the stairs to the house phone "Hello?" he answered and the sugary sweet voice on the other side sounded frantic.
"Arnold! I've been trying to reach you on your cell phone since Friday after school! Are you alright?"
"Oh, hey Lila… Sorry, I left my phone at school and I got stuck in the basement and… Well, it's a long story…"
"I know, Rhonda told me the whole story! I'm just ever so certain that I was so worried about you! Is Helga alright?"
"She's fine…"
"Good, I'm just ever so glad… I was wondering if you'd like to get together and maybe talk?"
"That sounds great, Lila, you can come over if you want"
"Okay, Arnold I'll have my daddy give me a ride over as soon as he gets home, which should be within the next hour… See you soon"
After their conversation, Arnold hung up the phone and made his way into the shower, getting ready before Lila soon showed up at his front door. Arnold smiled when he saw her holding a few movies in one hand and in the other hand a plastic bag filled up with bags of potato chips, bottles of yahoo soda, cookie, and popcorn. "After all the excitement, I thought you could use some junk food and movies" she said with a smile on her face. He grinned and helped her carry all the stuff up to his room "Gee, Lila… You really didn't have to do all that…." He said rubbing the back of his neck as she sat down on the couch. "I'm just ever so certain that I wanted to, Arnold" she said with a small blush tinting her cheeks.
That's really nice of you, thanks Lila" he said taking a seat beside her "What movies did you have in mind?" he asked. She giggled "Well, I thought maybe we could have a Lord of the Rings marathon, so I brought all three movies" she said and handed to him. "Great!" he exclaimed with excitement and popped the movies into his DVD player. With his remote control he turned on the surround system and then pressed a button that would cause a giant metal plate to slip out from under the skylight so the room was submerged in darkness. "Wow, that's just ever so cool" Lila said in amazement "Yeah, I just had it installed, along with a new entertainment system" Arnold replied happily, eager that he got to try out his new toys with such an amazing girl. Lila smiled warmly at him as she popped open a bag of chips and a bottle of yahoo soda one for her and one for Arnold. "Thanks" he said with a smile and started the movie.
A little less than halfway through the second movie, they found that they were already down two bags of chips, a whole package of Oreo cookies, and a six pack of Yahoo soda. "Oh, I don't feel very well, Arnold…" Lila moaned, clenching her bloated stomach. Arnold laughed and nervously slid an arm around her shoulder, surprised when she didn't pull away. She leaned into him, her head on his shoulder "Maybe you shouldn't have eaten all that junk food" he chuckled. "I'm ever so sure you had just as much as I did…." She groaned in agony, the mixture of sweets, soda, and chips not sitting well in her fragile stomach. "Yeah, but Gerald and I are used to it… We used to eat way more than that when we were younger" he laughed and pulled her close. Her hands slid from her stomach to around his waist, gripping him tightly. "I'm ever so certain that I'm just not used to eating junk food…" she wretched, feeling sick, Arnold rubbed her shoulder softly and ended up pausing the movie. "Can I get you some Alka-Seltzer?" he asked and she nodded in pain. He jumped up and quickly ran to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water and Alka-Seltzer tablets.
He made his way back up to his room and helped Lila drink down the fizzing water, helping her stomach to settle a little better. "Grandpa drinks these all the time… Something about raspberries... He swears by them…" he said, pondering the mystery that was grandpa's raspberries. Lila smiled weakly at Arnold "Arnold, may I just lay down for a little bit, while we finish the movies?" she asked sweetly, he nodded and grabbed a blanket from his bed. "Of course, Lila" he said as she lay down on the couch, he placed the blanket over her and resumed the movie. About four and a half hours later the credits for the third movie finally began to roll.
Arnold turned to Lila who was snoring on his couch. He smiled softly as he studied her every feature, beautiful auburn hair, pale complexion, clusters of freckles… Green eyes… He moved a stray lock of hair behind her ear to get a better look at her. She was so delightful to the naked eye, lovely and fair… She shared an uncanny resemblance to his breathtaking lover, Joanna… And maybe that's why even after all these years of being away, he was still so drawn to her… Because she reminded him of his Angel back in the jungle. It made perfect sense, Lila was attracted to Arnold because he reminded her of his cousin Arnie. Arnold was still attracted to Lila because she reminded him of his passed lover Joanna. And the sad thing was that neither of them realized that the feelings they had for each other were all just one big web of lies.
Lila stirred, before her green pools fluttered open and she sat up, stretching and yawning. "How long was I out?" she questioned, noticing the movie had already ended. "Almost five hours" Arnold chuckled and began collecting all the trash they left, putting it in the plastic bag. "Oh… I'm ever so sorry I just fell asleep on you like that; I really wasn't feeling well… I hope you understand" she said and looked down sadly. He smiled and sat next to her "It's alright, Lila… Your snoring was cute" he said teasingly and she looked at him embarrassed "Oh I'm every so embarrassed" she said and face palmed. "Don't be, Lila… I had a lot of fun, and you helped to take my mind off a lot of things" he said with his famous half lidded gaze. She perked up instantly and stood up; he walked her down the stairs and to the door where he father was now waiting outside for her. "Well, I'm just ever so glad that I could help you de-stress, Arnold… Ever so glad" she said with a feeling of accomplishment. "We should really do this again sometime…" he said rubbing his arm absentmindedly. She nodded in excitement "I'd absolutely love that, Arnold…" she said as he opened the door for her. They stood in his doorway for a long moment before he decided to make a move; he leaned in slightly, his eyes shutting slowly. Lila was surprised by his sudden actions, but was flattered at the same time, she had been waiting for him to finally do something and now he was. She leaned in, her eyes fluttering closed.
They soon closed the distance between them, their lips pressing softly against one another. There was no passion, no intimacy, just a sweet, innocent first kiss. The kind of kiss you'd received at the age of three or four, pure and gentle, and not quite understanding… Or maybe like the soft flutter of a butterfly's wings against your warm cheek, causing you to grow all warm and fuzzy inside. It was definitely nice, and Arnold didn't know how long he had waited for this moment… However, when they pulled away and Lila bid him farewell, disappearing into the sunset; Arnold couldn't help but feel… Nothing…. Which confused him deeply… When kissing the girl of your dreams shouldn't you see fireworks? Shouldn't it have felt like he was floating amongst the clouds, or dancing with angels? Maybe even just the feeling of a cold beverage sliding down your dry throat on a hot summer's day…. But no… Not even that. All he had felt was a pair of warm glossy lips pressed against his own, nothing special, no want, no passion, no nothing… Just flesh against flesh… It was most definitely peculiar…
With a soft "Hmm…" Arnold turned to walk back inside, closing the door behind him, his head in a completely different dimension…
Welp, there you go, Chapter 9! And you all had better like it! Because I stayed up till… Well, I just finished it and its now almost 5 a.m! I had to stay up and finish this chapter so I could quickly upload it before the internet goes bye bye!
Anyway, rate and review or I keel you!
TTFN! (Ta Ta for now!)
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