Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold.
Sunday, April 19
"I'm so excited." I said to Arnold clapping my hands like a little girl. He laughed. The zoo isn't too far and isn't too near. It's a 45-minute drive. I looked at his CDs and picked out the Paramore album.
"Can I play this?" He nodded and I put it in the player. I looked at the back of the album and picked out the song I like to hear.
"I love this song." He said when I played Ain't it Fun.
"Me too." Then we sang along. After a few songs, we arrived. I Opened the door but Arnold stopped me. He went to my side and opened the door for me and helped me up. He helped me walk but I said that I could handle it. He nodded and let me walk by myself. I'm still using crutches, it's difficult but I don't want to keep asking him for help. We walked to the entrance and he bought the tickets. We went inside.
"What do you want to see first?" I thought about it.
"Let's go see the penguins." He nodded and we went to the penguins' habitat. There were a lot of penguins.
"They're so cute." I squealed. They were diving and swimming. And the babies were so cute. After that, we looked at the seals. There was a show and we watched. The seals were doing tricks using beach balls. It was fun to watch. After the show, it was 11:42 am. I was getting a bit hungry.
"Do you want to eat before we proceed to the other animals?" He asked. I nodded and we headed to the food court. He bought soft pretzels and coke.. We sat at the table outside and ate.
"How are you liking our zoo date?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow.
"So this is a date." I said. He blushed.
"Well, to me it is."
"I'm just kidding. I'm loving it so far." Then he punched my nose. We continued to eat until we were done.
"What now?" He asked.
"I want to see the baby animals. Let's go to the petting zoo." He nodded and we were off. Once there, the zookeepers led us to the baby mammals. I held a baby tiger. Arnold was reluctant to hold the baby tiger but I forced him. In the end, he enjoyed petting the babies. After the petting zoo, we went to the gift shop. We each bought animal hats. I got a polar bear hat and Arnold got a giraffe hat. After that we exited the zoo and went back to Arnold's car.
"Did you have fun?" He asked.
"No."
"What? Why?" He asked looking confused and worried at the same time.
"I'm kidding. I had the best time. This is the best day I've ever had. Well aside from yesterday." He looked relieved.
"Do you want to go home?" I shook my head.
"Well, where do you want to go?" He asked.
"Let's go to your house. I have to thank your mom for you know, everything." He chuckled and started the car. We stopped by a flower shop because I wanted to but Arnold's mom some flowers.
"What's your mom's favorite flower?" He looked around and pointed to a pot on the far left side of the store.
"Petunias?" He nodded. I asked the florist for one bouquet of petunias. After that, we headed to Arnold's house. We arrived around 3 pm. We entered and we saw his mom and dad watching tv.
"Hey mom, dad. Look who's here."
"Hi." I said nervously. Stella had a big grin plastered on her face and so did Arnold's dad.
"Hi Helga. How are you?" She hugged me.
"I'm fine. Oh these are for you." She looked surprised. She took the flowers from my hands.
"Oh thank you Helga. These are my favorite." She hugged me again.
"You must be tired. Come, sit here." Arnold's dad pointed to the couch. Arnold led me and I took a seat.
"So, where have you both been?" Stella asked. She put the flowers on a vase in the living room.
"I took Helga to the zoo." His mom and dad looked at each other.
"That's where you're father took me on our first date." Arnold and I looked at each other and smiled.
"You're a chip off the old block short-man." Then they laughed.
"So my question is, are you two together-together?" Mom asked. I blushed and looked at Arnold.
"I'm still courting her." He answered.
"That's good. Well, I have to go to the kitchen and prepare dinner. Helga, would you like to stay for dinner?" I nodded and she disappeared into the kitchen. Arnold's dad also left and we were left in the living room.
"Are you tired?" He asked. I shook my head.
"Will you be able to go to school tomorrow?" I thought about it and nodded.
"I've been absent for a week. And I can't believe I'm saying this but I miss school." He smiled and put an arm around me. I leaned on his chest and we stayed like that.
"Helga, will you be my girlfriend?" He asked. I was shocked but I already know my answer. He asked me with no complication, no special effort. Just a simple question. I looked at him and answered.
"Yes." He hugged me and kissed my forehead. A little later, Stella called us for dinner. Arnold helped me to my seat and he sat next to me. We ate and after Arnold told his parent about our relationship. His mom laughed but accepted the news pretty well and so did his father and grandparents. They were happy that Arnold and I are together.
"Welcome to the family Helga." Stella said. I felt like crying but I held it in. I wanted to hear those words from my own parents. I'm just glad that I have a second family, a family that knows I exist. We continued to eat. After, Arnold's parent told us stories about their love story. Arnold held my hand the whole time. When the night ended, Arnold drove me home. When we were on the porch, he kissed me goodnight. I watched him drive off. I went inside. Although I was alone, I didn't feel that sad because I know that someone loves me. I went upstairs and fixed myself for bed. Then I went to sleep.
Monday, April 20
I woke up early to make myself some breakfast. After eating, I took a bath and dressed for school. Around 7 am, I was ready. But a thought struck me. How was I going to get to school? I can't drive and the nearest bus stop is miles away. Just when I thought all hope is lost, my savior came driving in.
"Need a ride?" He asked. He helped me with my bag.
"How did you know?"
"I had it all planned out since last night." I kissed his cheek and we drove off. At school, people were looking at us but I wasn't worried because I know Arnold's here for me. We entered the classroom and Gerald was the first one to greet us.
"Good morning love birds. Everything's all right and dandy with the both of you?" Arnold helped me to my seat.
"Why are you so giddy?" But I knew the answer to my own question.
"Is there a reason not to be happy?"
"First of all Gerald, it's Monday and as I recall, you hate Monday." He still was looking happy.
"All right, Phoebe called me this morning." Arnold and I looked at each other and smiled. Finally Gerald was back to his old self. Class started and the teacher noticed my foot. She didn't ask anything but accepted my excuse letter. At lunch, Gerald, Arnold and I were sitting on the same table. Arnold was sweet as pie by buying me food even though I told him that I could do it he still insisted. Gerald already knows that Arnold and I are officially together. And we know that him and Phoebe are happily together. Things were turning out okay. But, the real obstacle is introducing Arnold to my parents.
A/N: Hey guys, thank you so much for reading my story. There will be more. A lot will be happening in the next chapters. :)
