"Yes."
"No."
"I said yes."
"I said no."
"But I said yes."
"But I said no."
"But I over-rule you."
"Ha, that's a laugh."
"Look, I know what I'm talking about."
"Coming from a boy with hair to match my front lawn. I can't believe I agreed to this stupid make-over. The sad thing is, you're actually enjoying it." Helga scoffed as she sat next to Jake on his bed.
"It's better than what you wore before." He replied.
"These clothes don't look that much different! Except the boots and socks."
"Oh, trust me, when you where them, they will."
"Whatever."
"So, you're doing it."
"I said NOOOOO."
"And I said YEEEEEEES!" Jake tugged on his hair, border line annoyed. He and Helga were sitting in his room, back from shopping, and doing nothing but petty fighting. "Look, I don't have time for this. Vallery should be here a few minutes with the hair dye and make-up. And tweezers. Thank God, for tweezers. I've got some business to take care of and I'll be back in a couple of hours. When I do, you better be beautiful."
"And what am I now, chopped liver?" She retorted.
"More like in need of an obediance training." He shot back and grabbed her arm, smiling.
"Hey, I'm not your Lassy, Bucko!" She pulled away, but gave half a smile back.
"Lassy wouldn't be barking at me so much!"
The door bell could be heard down stairs. "That'd be her." Jake turned around and left his room.
"Hey, you can't just walk out on me. We are trying to have a decent arguement here!" Helga ran after him.
"What's there to argue about?" He sped about half-way down the stairs, then jumped over the rest. From there, he went to the front door and opened it, revealing a short girl dressed dark jeans, a bright red shirt reading "Some days, it's just not worth chewing through the straps." in black letters, and choppy hair so colorful, it would put rainbows to shame. "You two play nice!" Jake added, before giving Helga a quick kiss and slipping out the door.
Vallery looked at Helga and smiled. She was answered with a skeptical huff.
PHOEBE'S ROOM
Phoebe sat at by the phone, frowning. She knew Helga's new phone number and she needed to talk with her, but she just couldn't find the right words to say. 'Hello, Helga. I understand that you're in love with Jake, but you should break up with him.' If it failed before, it would fail again. 'Helga, I'm jealous that you're spending time with Jake and not me.' She wouldn't go for that. Phoebe sighed, putting her hand on the phone, 'Guess what? Arnold broke up with Lila and says he loves you.' False hope, lies, and disaster sure to happen. 'Maybe, it'll just come naturally.' she thought and just as she was about to pick up the phone, it rang. She jumped a few inches and answered.
"Hello?" Who ever had called her hung up and Phoebe wondered why someone would want to pull a prank on her. She pressed off on the phone and was about to set it in the charger when it rang again. "Hello?" She repeated when she answered. Some shuffling could be heard and Phoebe considered unplugging her phone.
"Sorry, Phoebe." Arnold apologised and more shuffling along with some shushes could be heard.
"Oh, Arnold. It's you! Why would you be calling me?" 'And why are you acting so strange?'
More white noise. "Well, actually, Gerald's the one who wants to talk to you, but he's a little shy."
"I am not! I-I'm just... preparing!" His voice was heard in the background.
Phoebe blushed a bright pink and was glad they couldn't see her. "O-oh. Why would Gerald want to talk to me? I mean, what would he like to talk to me about?"
"He'd like to ask you something." Some whispers between the two boys were exchanged, but Phoebe could make out they were saying. Her face turned a new shade of red when Gerald's voice came through the phone.
"Hey, Babe." He tried to keep his voice smooth, barely succeeding.
She had to pull the phone away from her mouth so he wouldn't hear her giggle. When she finally recovered, she put the phone back to her ear.
"Hello?" Gerald asked. "I think she left."
"No!" She accidently yelled into the phone. "I mean, I'm here.What did you want to ask me?"
There was a moment of awkward silence, then a heavy breath. "I was just wondering... not that it's any of my business or anything... if you had someone to go to the Cheese Festival with. I know you usually go with Helga, so if you have plans... actually, I should probably just go right-"
"Um, no, I don't think Helga's going to be at the festival, so I'll just be by myself." Phoebe interupted before he had a chance to leave. She could guess what he was really wanting to ask, but was trying not to get her hopes up. Which was really hard to do with Gerald Johannson on the line.
"What a coincidence, so am I!" He chuckled nervously. "Soooo..."
'Ask me, Gerald... Please, ask me...' Phoebe pleaded in her mind.
"Would you... would you like to go to the Cheese Festival... that is... with me? Phoebe?"
"Could you hang on for a moment, Gerald?"
"Uh... sure."
She set the phone down and stood up from the chair in her living room. "Yes, yes, yes!" She whispered and danced around. Remembering she had yet to say it to Gerald, she took a deep breath to calm herself, then picked up the phone again. "I would find it most... enjoyable... I'd love to go to the Cheese Festival with you." Phoebe smiled uncontrollabley.
There was another moment of silence before a "Whoo!" was heard from Gerald, followed with, "Oops, ah, geez, I'm still on the phone."
This time, Arnold was heard in the background. "Well, say something!"
"Arnold! She said yes!"
"She can probably hear you."
"Ah man, I hope not. She'll think I'm a goof."
"She'll think you're a goof if you don't say something before she changes her mind!"
Gerald voice was louder as he talked straight into the reciever again. "Hey Phoebe? You didn't happen to hear any of that did you?"
"Hear what?" She lied.
"Hey Arnold," Gerald's whisper was clear and audible, "she didn't hear anything."
If Phoebe's smile could've gotten bigger at that moment, it would have.
"I guess I'll... talk to you later then?"
"Definitely. Goodbye, Gerald!"
"Bye!"
Phoebe waited for the sound of the other line hanging up, but didn't hear it.
"You hang up first."
"Gerald!" Arnold yelled in the background.
"What?!"
Phoebe chuckled. "I'll call you tonight."
"Okay. No, wait, I'll call you. Is 10:30 okay? My dad should be asleep by then. You know how he gets."
"10:30 is fine. Bye, Gerald!"
"Bye!" They said again and this time, Phoebe hung up. She ran up to her room and began dancing around in excitement.
SUNSET ARMS
"See, that wasn't so hard, now was it?" Arnold took the recievor and put it down.
"She said yes!" Gerald hugged his best friend.
"Uuuh... Gerald? You're getting a little... close." He said, flustered.
"Sorry, Man, sorry. I just got a little excited there." He let go and smoothed out Arnold's sweater. "I gotta go work out now."
Arnold gave him a funny look. "Why? Isn't it a little too hot for that?"
"Because," he rolled his eyes, "I just hugged another dude. Dudes don't hug other dudes. I've got to do something manly to make up for it. Plus, I need to be looking my best for Phoebe." Gerald wiggled his eyebrows as a sly smile spread across his face. "I'll see you later, Man."
Arnold shook his head and smiled. "See you later." They did their handshake and Gerald left, humming on his way out.
Phil walked down the stairs, holding his newspaper. "Did Gerald go already?"
"Yeah, Grandpa. He had to work out."
"Aaaah, making himself look good for some girl, is he?" He walked into the kitchen for lunch and Arnold followed.
"Grandpa, do you know everything?" He asked, sarcasticly.
"Of course I do! I'm old! Old people know everything, remember that, Short Man. Now why do I feel day ja vu everytime I look at today's paper?"
"Uh... because that's yesterday's paper." Arnold pointed at the date.
"Oh crud, then where did I put today's paper?! Oh well, Abner's probably eaten it by now. So is this girl Gerald's after a hot tamali, if you catch my drift?" Grandpa nudged Arnold before reaching into the fridge and pulling out half of its contents just to make a couple of sandwiches.
"To Gerald, she is." Arnold pulled out a chair and sat down at the table.
"She isn't ugly like your friend with the one eyebrow, is she?" Phil spread all the ingredients out on the table and licked his lips.
"No, Phoebe doesn't look anything like Helga, but Helga doesn't look that bad either, Grandpa."
"She has one eyebrow, Arnold! It's like a hairy catipillar! Worse, it's like a fat centipede! That's what it is, an over-stuffed centipede resting above her eyes!" Grandpa pointed a butter knife at him, then continued to finish making the first sandwich before starting on the second one.
Arnold sighed. Even when she wasn't near, Helga still managed to be around. "It's not that bad, Grandpa. I ..." he sighed, "I don't want to talk about Helga today. We're not exactly on good terms right now." He rested his head in his hand and looked down at the table.
"Have you two ever been on good terms?!" Grandpa rolled his eyes as he took some slices of salami to put on the bread.
Arnold could tell this conversation was going to get worse before it got better and groaned.
"Uh-oh, here's another one of your boyhood dilemmas. Are you ever going to grow out of them or is this just way you are?"
"Speaking of growing out of things," Arnold brightened at the sudden opportunity to try to change the subject, "my pajamas are getting kind of small. I need some new ones."
"I'll get you some later. Now, about what's-her-face..." He finished the second sandwich and handed it to Arnold.
"Phoebe?" He hoped.
"No, no, Arnold, the other one, with the bow." Grandpa took a large bite out of his food.
"Helga." His hope deflated.
"What's she done to you this time, Short Man?"
"Well," Arnold took a bite out of his sandwich, chewed thoughtfully, then swollowed and continued, " remember yesterday, when you asked me about the paint on my sweater? I told you it was from a paintball fight."
"Lemmeh gah, see wuzzuh wa ooit er." Grandpa rolled his eyes and spat food all over the table. Arnold gave him a confused look, not understanding a word he had just said.
He swallowed his food and continued, "I said, let me guess, she was the one who hit you."
"Yeah. The problem is, I think I deserved it." Arnold ate more of his sandwich while Grandpa talked.
"You?! She tortures you for years, throwing spit balls at you, insulting you and calling you names like 'Football Head', tripping you, pulling all kinds of pranks, and you diserve to be hit with a paintball?! Oh, do tell, Arnold, do tell!" He spoke sarcasticly and took another bite.
"Well, I saw something of hers... something I shouldn't have seen... and I kind of... I don't know, Grandpa, it was kind of personal. Maybe I shouldn't talk about it." He took another bite.
"You saw something personal? What happened, she flashed ya?"
Arnold tried not to think about it too hard (or at all, rather), but it proved easier said than done and he choked on his food
Grandpa laughed as he elbowed his grandson, winking. "Maybe it's best I don't know after all. You kids are growing up so fast. Well, I'm going to go take a nap. Wake me up for dinner, would ya, Short Man?" He finished his sandwich, then stood up and put everything that wasn't now empty back in the fridge.
"Okay. See you later, Grandpa." Arnold coughed the words out after he managed to swallow. After Grandpa left, he wondered if, maybe today, it would be best to stay inside.
SLAUSEN'S
Lila sighed as she walked in to the familiar ice-cream parlor. The days were getting hotter and hotter as they passed by, and she could use a good Frappa-Mocha-Caramel-Ice-Cream-Drink-Thing (The actual name it was sold by, because the manager, who happened to be Slausen Jr., thought it would be funny. Though the owner, Mr. Slausen himself, thought of it as a little silly, he had to admit that the name made a few of the new customers smile a little when they read it.) The cool air inside felt good against her skin and the only thing that felt better was seeing Gloria in the back, slowly eating a sundae.
After making her order and paying, Lila made her way for the certain booth and slid across from the humble blond. "Hello. Is this seat taken?"
Even though she knew instantly who the voice belonged to, Gloria looked up in surpise. She then looked back down to hide her cheeks turning red. "Um... well, no, not exactly, but..."
"Gloria, what ever is the matter?" Lila looked into her eyes. The two girls both had blue eyes, but while Lila's were a brighter shade of blue, Gloria's were darker and had silver specks.
She picked at her sundae with her spoon before taking a small bite and sighed, trying to stall. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"It seems to me that we have ever so much fun together as long as other people are around, but as soon as we're alone-"
"So how are you and Arnold doing?" Gloria forced a smile, trying to avoid the subject of what had happened between them at Spring Break.
Lila didn't even bother to smile as she tilted her head down and sighed. "He's fine. We might go to the cheese festival together."
"Here's your Frappa-Mocha-Caramel-Ice-Cream-Drink-Thing." A waiter wearing the traditional Slausen's apron startled the two girls as he set down Lila's drink.
"Thank you, so much." Lila finally faked a smile at the waiter as he left.
"What were we talking about again?" Gloria asked as she mixed her sundae with her spoon before Lila could bring up certain memories.
"Arnold and I are going to the Cheese Festival." Lila put her straw in the glass mug and drank, disappointed.
"Oh. Right." Jealosy pricked her ears, but she ignored it.
"Are you... going with anybody in particular?" Lila continued to stare into Gloria's eyes with hope.
"Actually, I was thinking about not going." Gloria ate more of her ice cream and thought, 'How could I stand watching Arnold be in love with you?'
"Oh." Lila sucked on her straw to hide the smile trying to form on her face. She had an idea.
The next fifteen minutes were spent in near silence. Gloria couldn't help but feel she was being watched, and kept her head lowered in attempt to hide from everyone's gaze, especially Lila's. The attempt failed, however, when awkward silence and temptation forced her to glance up. There were Lila's bright blue eyes, shining, Lila let out a giggle at finally getting attention and Gloria turned her head back down a little too low, getting ice cream on her nose. She lifted her head again in mild shock.
"Oh!" Gloria turned pink and was about to wipe it off when Lila took a napkin from the dispencer on the table and did the job for her. Gloria let half a smile creep on her face for a moment, but when her eyes connected with Lila's, the smile dropped and she stepped out of the booth.
"Wait!" Lila took Gloria's hand so that she couldn't leave. "I want to ask you something ever so important."
Gloria looked around at some of the eyes watching her cheeks turn red. She turned to Lila again. "What?"
Lila smiled. "Will you go to the Cheese Festival with me?"
"What about Arnold?" She frowned.
Lila hesitated a moment to think before answering, "Don't worry about him. I'm afraid we've put ourselves in ever such a mess and you and I are going to have to talk this out if we ever want it cleaned up." She let out a heavy breath and added, "This isn't going to just go away."
Gloria closed her eyes and gently pulled away. "Meet me by the cheese kebab stand at nine."
Lila's face brightened. "I'm ever so glad! See you there!" She turned and finished her Frappa-Mocha-Caremel-Ice-Cream-Drink-Thing, smiling, even as Gloria left rather hastily.
JAKE'S HOUSE
Helga sat on the edge of Jake's bathtub, holding an ice cube wrapped in plastic between her now seperate and carefully shaped eyebrows. "I can't believe I let you talk me into dying my hair." She grumbled.
"You know," Valery spoke while she dried Helga's hair with a blow dryer. "you're pretty lucky to have blond hair. Mine's black and I always have to get my roots bleached when they grow out. Besides, the color looks cute on you!"
"Well, maybe I don't want to look cute! Ever thought of that?!"
"Come on, you look hott! You've got new clothes, your unibrow is gone, now I just need to put on your make up and we're done." She turned off the hair dryer and pulled Helga's ice cube away. She put the items down and picked up a sleek comb.
"MY HAIR IS PINK!" Helga yelled. "We better be done with this soon, this bathroom is getting stuffy.".
"Why are you so angry?" Valery asked as she ran the comb through Helga's hair..
"I am not angry!" She clenched her fists. "I'm just agitated, okay?!"
"Well, just think of it as a way to get back at your mom or something."
Helga didn't reply.
A ridiculously long amount of time later, Helga was staring at herself in the mirror of Jake's bathroom. 'He was right... these clothes look a lot different from my old ones. When the heck did I get boobs?!' The dress had resemblance to her old one, but instead of being pink, it was red, and where the red stripe would've been, it was white. The neckline and bottom of the dress was edged with black cloth. It was quite a bit shorter that her old one, and tighter to show off curves Helga didn't have too much of. She also wore a white shirt underneath like before, but this time the shirt had a low cut collar and the sleeves were long, ending about two inches past her wrist. Pink socks with black lace at the top reached over her knee. Thick, black, ankle-high boots felt uncomfortable on her feet, but gave the outfit a more punk look. Last but not least, were the final touches: heavy eyeliner and mascara with red eye-shadow, a black, leather collar around her neck, and a black head band that rested on her pink, brushed down hair. Just about the only thing that was kept the same were her bangs.
"Guess I can't call you Pig Tails anymore, can I?" Jake spoke from the bathroom door.
"Crimeny, how can you be so quiet with those boots on?!" Helga yelled, though her tone was more surprised than angry.
"With much enjoyment." He winked. "Actually, it's the carpet and lots of sneaking in when I was young. Where's Valery?" Jake set a brown paper bag on the counter.
"She left a while ago." Helga reached for the paper bag, but Jake smacked her hand away.
"No, no, no!" He wiggled is finger at her. "That's for later, tomorrow night."
"What happens tomorrow night?" She lifted an eyebrow.
"A party. If you want to come," Jake tugged lightly on the red strap of Helga's dress, "where this."
Helga thought it over. She didn't like parties and she didn't like getting all dolled up for one either, but if Jake was going, it couldn't be too bad. "When and where?"
"My house, around eleven. My mom will be at her sister's house for a couple of days, so it'll be cool. So are you coming or what?"
"I guess I could stop by for a few minutes." She said coyly, pretending to be completely disinterested.
Jake grinned. "Awesome. Hey, it's almost three, wanna watch wrestling?"
"Doi!" Helga said before slipping past Jake and racing him upstairs to his room.
---------------------------
Author's Note: Hey, you guys? My editor's working on her college applications and everything, so that's why the updates are getting later and later. I'm sorry, but she's a good editor, she's just a little busy. In fact, I still haven't gotten an edit for this, so pardon if it's not up to par. When she finally does get back to me, I'll put that one up.
I was going to have the later Gerald/Phoebe phone call be in this chapter where it should be, but instead, I'll put it in the next chapter. Unfortunately, I can feel writer's block creeping up on me, so that's really... bad.
And I've decided I'm going to try not to nit-pick at each chapter I post. It seems almost every one, I have something I say I don't like, and it's probably really annoying for you guys. Sorry.
-T.S.