Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!
Tuesday, April 7
Last night, I was so conflicted. After that incident in the park, I couldn't think straight. I want to continue and at the same time I want to stop. I can't be in love with him again. I just can't. When I got home last night, Phoebe called. It was the perfect time to ask her to visit here.
"This Saturday?"- she asked.
"Yeah. I really missed you. So, can you come?"- she was silent for a few minutes.
"Sure."- to my relief, she agreed.
"Okay. I'll call you. Don't forget. Bye."- I hung up.
I arrived at school 10 minutes before class. When I entered the room, all eyes were on me. I was a bit confused but I went straight to my seat. I pulled out my notebook and started doodling. I keep hearing whispers. It was getting louder and louder until I really heard what they were whispering about.
"I can't believe Arnold and Helga are going out."
"Yeah me too. I always thought that Helga was a lesbian."- the f*ck are these girls talking about. I got so annoyed that I crumpled a piece of paper and threw it directly at the two girls who were gossiping about me.
"Hey! Who did that?"- asked the first girl.
"I did. You got a problem with that?"- she looked scared. Her friend looked at me.
"You shouldn't be doing that."- she said. I stood up and walked up to her.
"Then you shouldn't be gossiping about other people. Mind your own business." I walked back to my seat and acted that nothing happen. Who knew gossip spreads so fast. Its like wild fire in the forest. I always sit in the back of the class and Arnoldo sits in the front. After that encounter with the girls, he looked at me with a sorry expression. I rolled my eyes. It was lunch time when Arnold went up to me.
"Were you able to ask Phoebe to come here this Saturday?"- he asked in a low voice.
"Yeah. Were you able to convince Gerald to come with you?"- I whispered. We were walking to the cafeteria. Once there, we sat on a table. Everybody was looking at us.
"This is your fault Arnoldo. Now people have something new to talk about."
"Atleast nobody suspects a thing. Think of it as a good thing."
"How could you think of this as a good thing?"- I slumped down on the table. He doesn't even looked bothered by the fact that people are talking about us. Maybe he's enjoying it. No, stop it Helga. Don't think like that.
"Anyway, would you like something to eat? I'm buying."- I looked at him. What is wrong with this guy?
"Yeah, whatever."- he left and went to the counter. Arnold, please stop playing with my emotions. Its not funny. He came back with 2 slices of pizza, an apple and two bottles of iced tea.
"Here you go." – he handed me a slice of pizza, the apple and a bottle of iced tea. This is what I usually order here in the cafeteria.
"How did you know?"- I asked him.
"Know what? This is what I always buy here." He smiled. I'm really getting uncomfortable here.
"Aren't you bothered?"
"Bothered with what?"
"Bothered by people staring at you. Gossiping about you."- he shrugged.
"Why should I be bothered? We're not doing anything to hurt anybody. As a matter of fact, we're trying to help someone out." – he continued to eat. He's right after all. I just ignored everything and ate my lunch. Gerald came by and sat beside Arnold.
"Hey Arnold. Enjoying your lunch?"- Arnold looked at me and smiled.
"As a matter of fact, yes I am."- Gerald looked pissed.
"Could I talk to you…. In private?"- then he looked at me like I was a deadly parasite, sucking the life out of Arnold.
"I'll be right back Helga."- then they left the cafeteria. I continued to eat and after that, I waited for them to come back. I took out my iPod and listened to music to pass the time. After 10 mins. Arnold came in.
"Sorry I took so long."
"You don't need to say sorry."
"But I want to. I made you wait here."
"Where's Johanssen?"
"He left. He still can't believe that you and I are "dating"."- well, I wouldn't either but were doing it for them anyway.
"Well, I better get going. See you later."
"Don't forget about your guitar lessons later."
"Whatever."- I left the cafeteria.
After class, I went home and put my stuff in my room. I took my guitar and went off. Nobody was home, it was no surprise since Olga has been busy with her career, of course mom and dad would go to every single performance. Before leaving, I looked up if the weather was gonna hold, it looks like a storm was coming so I brought a jacket. I got to the roof at 4 pm and Arnold was there.
"Let's start. We should hurry, I think its gonna rain."- he nodded. I sat infront of him, guitar in hand. He kept repeating the different chords, I got a little irritated because I couldn't properly move from one chord to another.
"Do it slowly. Like this."- then he showed me how.
"I am doing it slowly. I really don't get it."- he sighed.
"You will get it if you try harder. Don't give up that easily."
"I'm not giving up. Its just…. Whatever. Let's just go home. This is useless."
"If you keep being stubborn, you're not going to get it right but if you try to be patient with yourself, then it'll be easier."- I couldn't really argue with what he just said. I sat back down and tried to do it again. This time, I got it right.
"See? If you try harder and don't give up, you will get it."
"Yeah, well its just because I'm awesome at learning new things."- I said, full of confidence. He looked like he was about to laugh.
"Sure Helga."- he said.
"Well, I guess its safe to say that we should be going. Looks like the storm will be coming in."- I nodded and took my things. Suddenly, the rain poured heavily. We ran to the ladder and got down. Arnold was first then I followed, but because the metal was wet and slippery, about 5 steps from the ground, I slipped. Luckily, he caught me. I was both shocked and embarrassed. I was looking at his wet face while he looked at mine. I saw him blushing and I'm guessing I was too.
"Are you okay?" – he asked. I nodded and he let me down gently.
"Oh no. I left my jacket up there. I'll just go and get it."- I was about to climb the ladder again but Arnold stopped me.
"No. You might get hit by lightning up there. Here."- he took off his jacket and made me wear it.
"What about you?"- he shook his head.
"My house is just over there. C'mon. You can stay there until the rain stops."- we ran to his house. Once we got in, he called out.
"Mom? Dad?"
"Arnold?"- suddenly, the brunette girl who answered the door for me before, came out of the living room.
"Mom, this is Helga. You remember her, right?"- that's why she looked familiar. She and Arnold looked alike. Except maybe for the hair.
"Yes. Wait, why are you soaking wet? Were you running in the rain? You're gonna catch a cold. Myles? Myles! Bring me two towels please. Arnold is soaking wet."- then a tall, blonde guy brought us towels. This maybe Arnold's father. He handed us the towels.
"So you're Arnold's lady friend. He talks about you often."- Arnold and I looked at each other and blushed.
"Dad!"- his father laughed.
"I'm just kidding."- then Arnold's mother nudged him.
"Arnold, go to your room and take a shower. And for you little lady, I have some extra clothes that would fit you perfectly. C'mon. And you can shower upstairs."- I nodded and followed her. She gave me a new pair of undies, and a cute pajama set.
"This was mine before. It looks like we have the same size. Here. And the shower is over there."- she smiled at me and led me to the bathroom.
"Thank you so much."
"You're welcome. Any friend of Arnold is welcome here."- she then motioned me to go in. I went in the bathroom. Before I could take off my clothes, she knocked.
"Just put your wet clothes in the hamper under the sink."
"O-okay."- then I took off my clothes and put it in the hamper. I showered and changed into the clothes she gave me. I looked at myself in the mirror. The pajama fit perfectly. It was color black with little pink ribbons. It made me think about the ribbons I used to wear a long time ago. And it also made me think about Arnold's parents. What I would give to have a family like theirs. I hung the towel in the towel rack beside the shower. When I opened the door, I saw a pair of slippers. Maybe his mom put it here for me to wear. I was wearing a pair of flip-flops a while ago and I took it off when I went inside. I walked towards the stairs. I feel new here even though I was here before. As I recalled the memories of me sneaking into this house to get the tape which had a message of me admitting my feelings for Arnold. I was under the influence of laughing gas that time. I smiled at the thought of that memory. I went down the stairs. I saw Arnold's mom at the bottom of the stairs.
"Wow. It really fits you perfectly. Let's go to the dining room. I prepared soup."- she led me to the dining room. Arnold, his dad, and his grandparents were already there. Arnold was wearing a pajama on the bottom and a sleeveless white shirt. He looked…. Stunning. I was awestruck. His body gained muscle. He used to be skinny but now his body is just right. Not too skinny and not too muscly. His mom led me to a seat infront of Arnold. We sat down and they served the soup.
"Eat up dear. This is mom's special chicken soup. You're gonna love it."- Arnold's mom said. I looked around and saw Arnold's grandma. She looked at me and winked. I smiled at her. Me and his grandma had…. A special connection. I took a sip of the soup and it was delicious.
"Do you like it?"- I nodded. It was really good. None of my family members could cook such delicious food.
"By the way Helga, I'm Stella, Arnold's mom. This is Myles, his dad. That's Grandpa Phil and Grandma Gertrude."
"But you can call me Grandma Pookie."- and they laughed. I couldn't fight the urge and laughed as well. They were telling a lot of stories. Joking around and play fighting.
"Arnold, why were you and Helga soaking wet? Where have you been?"
"I asked Helga a favor and in return, I would teach her how to play the guitar. We usually meet at…..at the park. Then it rained."- he looked at me with a nervous smile on his face.
"Oh.. Okay. Anyway, Helga, I think the rain wouldn't be stopping anytime soon, why don't you spend the night here. We have an extra room upstairs. You can sleep there. What do you say?"- Stella offered. The rain still poured heavily and I have no choice since I didn't bring my car here with me.
"Okay."
"Okay then. We'll just prepare the room. In the mean time, why don't you and Arnold stay in his room just until we're done preparing your room."- I looked at Arnold and I noticed that he was blushing. I nodded. After eating, I cleaned up the table. Stella stopped me and said that I was their guest. I shook my head and said.
"It's the least I could do for you for letting me stay here."- she smiled and let me help her. After that, she showed me to Arnold's room. She knocked. Arnold opened the door and let me in.
"Keep her company until we're done. Don't make any miracles, okay?"- both me and Arnold blushed profusely.
"MOM!"- Arnold shouted. Stella just laughed.
"I'm kidding."- then she left.
"I'm sorry about that Helga. They just like to joke around."- he apologized. I shook my head.
"Its okay. They're really interesting people. I like them."- he smiled and showed me his room.
"Well, this is my room. Feel free to walk around."- He sat on the floor and took out his guitar.
"By the way, you're guitar is in the closet. I dried it for you."- he pointed towards the closet. I nodded and muttered a low thank you. I don't like saying thank you that much, okay?. I walked over to his desk and I found a bunch of pictures. Some of them were him and his family and some were him and Gerald but what caught my attention was the picture of me and him. I took the picture and looked at it. It was taken after the Romeo and Juliet play where we played Romeo and Juliet. Memories of that day flashed back in my head. The annoying dress, the terrible acting and….the kiss. (*dug dug dug dug). Its starting again. I can't believe I'm falling for him again. I put the picture frame back on the desk. I walked over to his window. It had space for you to sit down and I sat on it. I looked outside and contemplated my feelings. I can't believe I'm falling for him again. Suddenly, he played the song Only Exception. This time, he was singing. His voice was beautiful. Which made my heart beat even faster. At the latter part of the song, I joined him. He looked at me and smiled. We were singing the song together but I stayed on the window seat, looking at the drops of rain outside. I couldn't look at him because if I did, I'll fall even harder.
A/N: I am enjoying writing this story. Thank you for all the feedbacks and reviews. I appreciate you enjoying my work. This is my first fanfic and english is not my first language, I still hope that you understand. Again, thank you. :)
