You guys have been so awesome.
You keep writing me awesome reviews, even though its taken me forever and a day to update!
I have been out of town, and I had some major writers block . . .luckily, I have an awesome best friend who is just as nerdy as me, and she helped me brain storm A LOT of this chapter. (: So shout out to TrickyChicky!
If it means anything, this chapter is twice as long as any of the other chapters I have written so far, to make up how long it has taken me to get this chapter out to you guys!
I hope you guys enjoy...I really wanna know what you think!
Arnold had a terrible nights rest that night. He tossed and turned, not able to get Helga and their conversation at the park out of his mind. When he was able to fall asleep he would have dreams about how he wished their conversation would have went, or nightmares about Helga never speaking to him again. When his alarm finally went off the next morning, both his eyes and heart felt extremely heavy.
"HEY ARNOLD! HEY ARNOLD! HEY ARNOLD!"
Arnold sighed, pulling the cord out of his alarm clock. He thought that a good nights sleep was going to make him feel better, but if anything, he felt worse. He rubbed his eyes, and then dragged himself out of bed. He put on his clothes for the day, which was his usual button up flannel and some jeans. As he started to become more awake, he could feel the pain in his chest coming back. I gotta keep myself distracted, he thought to himself as he opened the door to his room and went downstairs for some breakfast. Maybe if I'm not able to think about it so much, it won't hurt so badly.
As he made his way downstairs, he could hear the frying of pancakes. He walked into the kitchen and saw his grandpa sitting at the dining room table and reading the newspaper. Arnold sat down as his grandma brought him over some pancakes. "Eat up, Tex! You're gonna need your strength down at the cattle ranch today." The plate was stacked high with pancakes, always more than Arnold could eat. "Thanks grandma," Arnold said, as his grandma tipped her cowboy hat at him. She walked back over to the stove, using her walker for balance as she began to make even more pancakes.
"How'd you sleep last night, shortman?" His grandpa asked, his face never emerging from behind the newspaper. Arnold started cutting into his food, not wanting to really talk about it. "Alright I guess." His grandpa finally lowered the paper a little bit, just enough for his eyes to peep out over the top. "I heard you come home a little late, did you ever talk to your little friend Helga?" Arnold sighed, putting his fork down. "Yeah, I ended up seeing her at the park. I tried to talk to her, and she told me she didn't want anything to do with me." His grandpa finally put the paper down, giving Arnold his full attention. "I tried to tell her I was sorry for what I said in the letter, but then she just started yelling at me. She told me I should apologize for what I didn't say . . .I don't know grandpa, but I have this crazy theory that she never got one of the letters I sent to her." Arnold pushed his plate away, this conversation making him lose his appetite.
His grandpa rubbed his chin, thinking. "Hmm . . .well, you should write your parents and ask them if they have found anything." "Well, that's what I did last night. I asked them to send me anything that might have been returned . . ." Arnold took a deep breath; he suddenly realized he didn't want to talk about this anymore. "Well, I gotta get going. I don't wanna be late for school . . .I'll see you guys later." He pushed himself up from the table, waving to his grandparents. "Oh, well okay, have a good day Arnold!" He grandpa yelled, both him and his grandma waving.
As Arnold opened the door, he saw Gerald waiting for him at the bottom of the steps. "Right on time man! I figured you would wanna walk to school with me today." Arnold gave him their handshake when he made it to the bottom of the stairs. "Sure, I'd actually really like that." Arnold smiled as Gerald gave him a thumbs up. "So, did you take care of everything you needed to yesterday?" Gerald asked, as they made their way to the end of the street. Arnold pushed the crosswalk button, waiting for it to change. "Stuff I needed to do?" Arnold asked. "Yeah, you said yesterday you couldn't hang out because you had some stuff you needed to do." Gerald shrugged, giving Arnold a confused look. The light changed, and they began to cross the street. "Oh, yeah. Yeah I guess you could say that I got it done." Arnold blinked, realizing yesterday seemed like a really long time ago to him. They turned another corner, the High School starting to come into sight. "Well good, because I want you to come hang out with me and Phoebe later tonight! We were thinking about hitting up the arcade later, and I know how long it's been since you've been there." Arnold smiled, thankful for the distraction. "Yeah, that actually sounds really fun!" Gerald gave him another thumbs up. "Cool man, and you can invite anybody you want!"
As Arnold went through his first three periods, he noticed that he hadn't had any classes with Helga so far. Without her nearby, he was able to loosen up. He was stoked to find out that he was actually ahead in most of his classes, his homeschooling program taught him most of the stuff they were covering in his classes last year. He was also catching up with a lot of his old friends like Sid and Harold; even Stinky was in his Chemistry class. Arnold felt like his spirits were finally lifting, and the horrible pressure that had been on his chest yesterday and most of last night was beginning to disappear. It wasn't until he was heading to his locker before his fifth period class, waving to Gerald as he turned a corner that he ran into her.
"Ow! Watch where you're-Arnold!" She gasped, jumping backwards a little as she dropped the rest of the books in her hand. Arnold rubbed his forehead as he opened his eyes. "I'm sorry . . .Helga?!" He also jumped a little, the sudden pain in his forehead completely gone. He bent down to pick up her books, wanting to do anything than stand there awkwardly. "I-I'm sorry Helga, I didn't see you." He piled her books on top of one another, lifting them up to hand them back to her. She looked at him; unable to hide the blush she knew was appearing on her cheeks. "Yeah well . . .well watch where you're going, football head!" She spat, grabbing her books out of his hand. "And I thought I told you to stay away from me!" She glared at him before trying to step around him. Arnold put his hands on her shoulders, gently pushing her back in front of him. "Helga, please. Just give me some time to explain? Let me take you to dinner or something . . .or come to the arcade with Gerald, Phoebe and I tonight." Arnold stared at her, smiling softly. For a moment, Helga didn't say anything. She just stared at him, unable to move her mouth. Arnold caught the sadness in her eyes before it quickly turned into anger. "Listen Bucko, you've always been kind of a slow kid, so I will say it again. Leave. Me. ALONE." She tried to brush past him again, but Arnold wasn't having it. He grabbed her by her arms this time, setting her back in front of him. "Look Helga. I know you're angry, and I know you are hurt. But you are just as slow as me if you think I'm not just as hurt." She refused to make eye contact with him, her angry eyes continuing to stare at the floor.
Arnold was beginning to get angry himself. He put his hand on her cheek, gently pushing her face to look up at him. "Helga, I'm sorry. Please give me a chance to explain to you what happened. It's not what you think. I never forgot about you Helga, not once." Helga stared up into his eyes a moment, her eyes starting to get softer. She took a deep breath before pulling away from him. "Arnold, I just . . .I can't-" She closed her eyes. "Please just leave me alone, Arnold. Please." She finally pulled away from him, making her way over to her locker.
Arnold couldn't believe it. She really wanted this to be over. Fine, Arnold thought as he walked over to her locker, unable to take the pain in his chest any longer. Helga opened her locker, putting her books inside as Arnold came up beside her. "Look Helga, you want me to leave you alone, but isn't that why you're mad at me in the first place? Because you thought I was leaving you alone here in the city while I was in San Lorenzo?!" Helga remained speechless as Arnold continued. "I'll do whatever you want from now on Helga. I'm just sorry that I thought our letters meant more to you than this, that I thought what we had meant more to you than this. Consider me gone." Arnold turned around, leaving Helga to sit in her thoughts.
The bell rang and Arnold quickly grabbed his books out of his locker, his hands shaking. He slammed the door and walked over to his class, not looking behind him.
It was one of the hardest classes Arnold had ever sat through. He sat at the back of the class, wanting to calm down before he saw anyone. He couldn't believe Helga, was she really so stubborn that she was willing to throw everything they had away? And for what? To prove that Arnold had hurt her? He shook his head. I'm not gonna let her ruin any more of my time at home . . . the ball is in her court as far as I'm concerned.
Later that day after class, Arnold went to the Arcade with Phoebe and Gerald. At first he almost canceled, wanting to be alone in his room again before he realized how much he wanted the distraction and company of his friends. Arnold was laughing as he watched Gerald and Phoebe play some shooting game. It was hilarious watching Gerald try not to get angry as Phoebe beat him at almost every game they played. "Beginners luck . . . " He kept saying, as Phoebe yet again beat him with her high score. Arnold rolled his eyes as he gave Phoebe a high five while Gerald still had his backed turned.
"Wow, you guys couldn't even wait for me to get here? You're probably bored of all the games by now!"
Arnold turned around quickly, not wanting to believe she was here. "Sorry Helga! I wanted to prove to Gerald that I can beat him at any of his favorite games in here." Gerald shook his head, the irritation of losing his last game with Phoebe still lingering. "Like I said! Beginners luck!"
Arnold continued to stare at Helga, incredulous. Didn't she say she wanted me to leave her alone? And now she's here to hang out with us, even though she knew I would be here? Helga looked over and saw Arnold staring at her. "Why don't you take a picture, Arnoldo? It'll last longer." Arnold looked away, putting his hands in his pockets so the others wouldn't see him clenching his fists. Gerald looked from Arnold to Helga, "Well, do you guys wanna do something else? I kinda figured this would just be a meeting place. Wanna go see what's playing at the movies?" Phoebe smiled, moving over to hold Gerald's hand. "That actually sounds extremely wonderful." They began to walk out of the Arcade, and Arnold was not going to wait up for Helga so she could keep torturing him, so he quickly followed Gerald and Phoebe out. Why is she doing this? Arnold thought to himself as he caught up with Gerald and Phoebe.
After they made it to the movie theater, they looked at the different movie posters to see what their options were. "I heard that one is supposed to be funny." Phoebe said, pointing to a poster the middle. "Nah, my parents said it was kinda dumb. How about Evil Twin III?" Gerald responded, pointing to the poster on the left. "Yeah! I've been dying to see that movie ever since I got back." Arnold said, remembering how much he enjoyed the Evil Twin movies before he left for San Lorenzo. "I actually don't do so well during scary movies, if Gerald remembers when we saw the last Evil Twin." Phoebe replied, staring at the ground sheepishly. "Oh come on, Phoebe! It's not that scary! And you used to watch scary movies at my house all the time before you started dating Geraldo!" Helga shouted as she crossed her arms. Arnold was getting sick of her attitude, fast. "Well why don't we see something we all wanna see, Helga?" Arnold retorted, acknowledging her appearance since the Arcade for the first time. "Well Arnold, Gerald said he doesn't wanna see the comedy, Phoebe doesn't wanna see the scary movie and I'm sure as heck not watching the chick flick!" Helga yelled, pointing to the last movie poster on the right. "So it seems to me, football head, that Phoebe is the only one who doesn't wanna watch the scary movie. The majority rules, sorry Phoeb's."Helga shrugged, making her way over to pay. "Actually, I wouldn't mind watching the chick flick. What about you Gerald? Phoebe?" Arnold asked, looking over at the both of them. "I've actually been dying to see it." Phoebe replied. Gerald shrugged, "As long as you don't mind, man." Arnold looked back over at Helga, showing her the smirk on his face. "No! No way am I watching a stupid, sappy chick flick," she yelled.
"I can't believe I'm watching a stupid, sappy chick flick." Helga said to herself as she flopped down in the seat next to Phoebe, starting at the blank screen angrily. Gerald sat down to Phoebe's right, and before Arnold could sit next to Gerald, another person sat down next to him. And then another person sat next to that person, taking up the rest of the row. Arnold sighed, realizing he would have to sit next to Helga if he wanted to stay with his friends during the movie. He sat down, leaning his head back against the seat. Could this night get any worse? His thoughts were interrupted as Helga pushed the armrest down, using it to rest her head in her hand.
After the movie had started, Arnold shifted, forgetting Helga was using the armrest as he tried to place his arm on it. "Would you watch what you're doing, football head?" Helga hissed, pushing his arm away. Arnold scowled, "Helga, why can't you share it? You have to take up the whole thing?" He shoved her arm off, placing his arm across it. Helga grit her teeth, pushing Arnolds arm off again. "Because I was using it first football head. Get lost!" Her voice was louder this time. Arnold couldn't believe she would try to be so stubborn over something so stupid. He sighed, crossing his arms. "That's more like it, football head" Helga chuckled, leaning her head in her hand again. Arnold was getting more and more irritated by the minute, which was so unusual for him. He was usually able to keep his anger under control, but he was getting so irritated by Helga's attitude, especially since she knew he was going to be here. "Helga, why are you doing this?" Arnold asked, trying to be quiet. "Doing what, bucko? Trying to not die of boredom watching this stupid chick flick you made us watch?" She replied, putting her head right back in her head as she tried to watch the movie. "That's not what I mean Helga, and you know it, why are you-" Gerald interrupted them, "Can you guys talk later? We're tryin' to watch this." Helga looked back up at Arnold, smirking. "Yeah Arnold, we're trying to watch this." Arnold had had enough. He got up, making his way over to the doors.
After he left the theater, he went outside to try and get some air. I don't get it, he thought to himself, starting down at the ground. She wants me to leave her alone, but then she just comes to the Arcade to hang out anyway? What game is she playing? Arnold pulled himself out of his thoughts as he heard someone walk up behind him. "Dude, what is going on with you guys?" Gerald asked, giving Arnold a very confused look. "You guys have been fighting ever since she showed up at the Arcade! I thought you said everything was cool between you guys?" Arnold sighed, looking back down at the ground. "Well, it's definitely not okay, Gerald." It was all he could think of to say at the time without getting into any of the details. He heard the glass door open and close again, hearing Phoebe and Helga talking as they approached them. "Is everything alright?" Phoebe asked, looking from Gerald to Arnold. Arnold didn't turn around, he just kept looking out into the street. Gerald shrugged as he looked from Phoebe to Helga. "You made us see that stupid movie Arnoldo, and then you just walk out in the middle of it?!" Helga yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. "What is wrong with you?"
Arnold had had enough. He spun around, pointing a finger at Helga. "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you, Helga?!" Gerald's eyes widened at Arnold's yell, he looked over to Helga as Arnold continued. "You told me to leave you alone, so you show up at the Arcade anyway?! After I invited you? You knew I would be there! Why didn't you just stay away if you were gonna be mean and rude?" Helga looked taken aback as Arnold shouted at her, but he couldn't bring himself to feel bad. "Because Arnold, Phoebe is my friend! I don't have to stay away from her just because you're around her!" Helga retorted, pushing Arnold's finger out of her face. "And for the record, you don't get to decide when and where I show up at places! And if you're gonna be hanging out with Gerald, it's highly probable he will be with Phoebe . . .which means, I will probably be around! So get used to it, Bucko!"
As Arnold and Helga continued to fight, Phoebe and Gerald looked from one to the other. "I don't have to get used to anything Helga! You know Gerald and I are best friends! You know I always hang out with him! You're doing this on purpose!" Helga scoffed, getting close to Arnold again. "And you know that I am best friends with Phoebe! I'm not going to stop hanging out with her just because you are back!" Before either of them could start yelling again, Gerald jumped between them, pushing them apart. "You guys! You guys!" He yelled, finally getting them both at a safe distance from one another. "You both have some issues you need to work out with each other! Can't you talk about this later? In private?" Arnold didn't say anything and Helga continued to stare him down. "I tried, but she won't listen Gerald!" Helga laughed, "I won't listen?! I told him to leave me alone, and he tries to bug me any chance he can!"
Gerald looked back at Phoebe, who shrugged. "You know what? Forget this! Come on Phoebe, lets go back to my house and watch a good movie . . ." Helga broke out of Gerald's grasp, starting to make her way back to her house. Phoebe stayed right where she was. "Actually Helga, I wanted to stay and watch the rest of the movie with Gerald." Helga spun back around, "Excuse me?" She spat, walking over towards Phoebe. "She said she wants to stay with me, Helga." Gerald answered, starting angrily at Helga. "Well this just in Geraldo, she's my best friend and she's coming with me." Gerald let go of Arnold, walking over to Helga. "Yeah, come on Gerald. Let's just let them hang out and you and me will go do something." Arnold added, starting to walk away from the movie theater.
Arnold looked over his shoulder once he realized Gerald wasn't following him. "Gerald?" He asked. Gerald was holding Phoebe's hand, looking at Helga and then back at Arnold. "You guys really think you can tell us what to do? You guys got some issues to work out . . .I don't know what's going on with you two, but figure it out and then come talk to us!" Gerald then turned around as Phoebe nodded, and then lead her back into the theater.
Arnold stood there, unable to process what just happened. He looked over at Helga, who looked just as confused. Finally the glass door shut, and they were left alone out on the sidewalk in front of the movie theater.