A/N: Okay, so... wow. Yeah. I'm a bad person for not doing this sooner. I have a really short attention span, okay! Rest assured when this is finished I'll be sticking to one shots. Only a couple more chapters to go now, though. Don't worry my friends, my beautiful readers. It will come to a close soon enough. Read it and review, and I will give you all some cake.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!, and the line about masks is from V for Vendetta. Cool. X
Helga anxiously paced around her room. At first, being late hadn't bothered her too much. She had been a day late before, but never two days, or even three days late. What if she was pregnant? She bit her lip as she stopped by her bed and looked out the window anxiously. What should she do? Should she wait and see if it would come?
Without thinking she grabbed the phone and began to dial Phoebe's number. Just as she hit the last number she realised what it meant, and slammed the phone back down on the hook. What was she thinking? To ask Phoebe what to do would cause a lot of questions to arise- ones which Helga was definitely not willing to answer. I'll just have to buy a test, Helga finally told herself, grabbing her coat and beginning on her way downstairs. Or I won't ever stop thinking about it.
When Helga finally made it to the pharmacy, she crept inside; looking around carefully to ensure no one she knew was around before she went in. The bell rang quietly as she pushed the door open, and the pharmacy assistant smiled at her pleasantly.
"Hello, how are you?"
"Fine, thanks," Helga lied, forcing a smile back.
"Can I help you find anything today?"
"A pregnancy test?" Helga answered a little hesitantly, expecting judgement from the lady. Instead, she smiled and walked with Helga up the aisle.
"These are our selections. They all have the same accuracy rate, so it's really just a preference of how to take the test. With this one you pee in a cup and put the stick in it, this one you pee on the stick yourself…" the lady went on, describing the minimal differences between the tests. Helga listened with one ear and kept the other open for any entering customers. If someone she knew came in she'd have to run and hide.
"As for the actual results," the lady went on, "if the test comes up positive it's positive, you're pregnant. It's possible the test might come up negative when you're still pregnant, but it's still very unlikely and only usually happens if the test is taken too close to conception. So, what do you think?" she asked politely, and Helga frowned.
"Uh, the purple one?" she guessed, pulling the box off the shelf. The lady smiled and nodded, walking with Helga back to the counter.
"Good choice. It's much nicer when there's a window displaying results than a couple lines on a stick. I should know, I have three kids," she said as she scanned the item.
"Three, huh? That's a lot. Is it all it's cracked up to be?" she asked, and the lady smiled fondly.
"Having kids is the best thing I ever did,"
Helga tried to smile, but instead handed over the money. Behind her she heard the bell ring as someone entered, and Helga turned to see who it was as the lady got her change.
"Oh, hello Helga! What are you doing here? I'm just here buying tampons for… for…" Rhonda's eyes were already on the pregnancy test in front of Helga. Helga gulped and shoved it in her jacket pocket, grunting.
"Miss, your change!" the lady behind the counter said, and Helga grabbed it, thanking her and storming out. Rhonda came running onto the street after her.
"Helga, was that a pregnancy test I saw you buying?" Rhonda demanded, and Helga resisted growling.
"Yeah! So what if it is?" she scowled, and Rhonda's eyes widened.
"You… you mean you're…?"
"So what if I am! And besides, who gives you the right to go asking? I have an older sister and a mother, why do you automatically jump to it being me? Hey, I could even be buying it for Phoebe for Christ's sake! So why don't you mind your own business, Rhonda?" Helga snarled, turned and stormed off. When she stole a glance behind her she could already see Rhonda dialling away on her phone.
Great.
Helga made it home in record timing and raced to the bathroom. She wasn't interested in dealing with Rhonda right now. She'd deal with that milestone when it came. No doubt everyone in her year already knew about the pregnancy test, and trusting Rhonda it would only be a matter of time before the entire school knew.
As Helga pulled down her pants she pulled out the instructions to the test. Pee on stick mid-stream.
Simple enough. Helga followed the instructions and placed the stick by the bathroom sink as she washed her hands. She picked up the leaflet and continued reading. Two minutes to wait. Helga took the test into her room and lay on the bed, counting the seconds. It seemed as though the two minutes would never end, until finally it did, and Helga read the result.
Negative.
Helga laid back and exhaled deeply. What a relief. She looked at the test again to make sure it still read negative. When it did, Helga couldn't help but smile.
"Thank goodness," she muttered, tossing the test in the bin beside her. She felt like dancing, like singing, like vomiting and crying at the same time. She was so happy she wasn't pregnant, that Ryan wouldn't grow inside her and into a baby, but now she had a whole different ballgame to think about. With every breath another person could potentially be spreading the news of a bought pregnancy test by Helga Pataki. What was she going to do?
She heard Miriam stumble inside and decided to leave it for now. Monday would come soon enough, and by then any damage Rhonda was capable of causing would be done. She went downstairs and into the kitchen, where Miriam was mixing herself up another smoothie.
"Oh, hi Helga, how are you doing?"
"I'm okay Miriam. How was community service?"
"What? Oh right! I forgot all about it," Miriam laughed, placing her hand to her head and laughing to herself. "Well, I'm sure they'll understand," she said, and Helga huffed.
"Yeah, okay. Well I'll catch up with you later, then," she replied gloomily and made to leave.
"Helga dear, wait, is everything alright?" Miriam asked and Helga nodded.
"Sure. It's all great,"
"Would you like a smoothie, dear? You look like you could use one," Miriam offered, and Helga raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
"Sure! Why don't you find a clean glass and I'll pour you one," she said brightly enough, and Helga smiled a little.
"Well… sure. I guess I could do with one," she replied, finding a clean glass and handing it to Miriam who poured her a drink. The two of them wandered into the living room to watch TV, Helga slowly sipping the incredibly strong smoothie on the way. Helga went to sit on the chair, leaving the couch to Miriam, but Miriam exclaimed out loudly at the gesture.
"What are you doing over there? Come sit on the couch with me, darling," Miriam insisted, and Helga rolled her eyes and did as she was told. For a time they were mostly silent, Miriam occasionally laughing at something on TV or making a comment of some sort. As Helga downed the last of the smoothie, the alcohol straight into her head, she stood to leave.
"Well, Miriam, I guess I have homework to do, so…"
"Wait, Helga, sit back down," Miriam said, grabbing Helga's arm and pulling her back onto the couch. "I know I haven't been the best mother there is… in fact I think everyone knows it. But you know I love you, right?" she asked, and Helga frowned.
"Well… yeah, of course I know Miriam,"
"And you know I love you just as much as I love Olga. I know your father and I don't act like we care about you the same, but we do. It was just that Olga wasn't planned. When I got pregnant your father and I were in such shock, but being newlyweds we assumed it was a blessing in disguise. Well, after she was born, she cried all the time, Bob was still starting out at the beeper company, and we were both so tired just all the time. It looked like our marriage was breaking up. Then when Olga said her first words… it was like everything went back to how it was when we first got together. Everything was perfect. She saved our marriage, truly," Miriam slurred to Helga, who just blinked in reply.
"And then we had you. We figured if one child could bring us so much happiness, another was sure to do so. And you did. Everyday your father and I are thankful to you," she said, and Helga blinked at her again.
"Really?"
"Yes dear. You're our angel in disguise," Miriam smiled, and extended her arms, pulling Helga into a hug. "I don't know what we'd have done without you," she said, and Helga, surprising even herself, hugged Miriam back.
"I love you mum,"
"I love you Helga,"
A couple hours later, Bob Pataki came home from work.
"Miriam? Olga? You guys home?" he called out, and got no answer. Grumbling he wandered into the living room, and seeing Miriam's sleeping figure lying on the couch he sighed heavily to himself.
"Bloody Miriam, always passing out this early on…" he muttered to himself, and walked around to her to wake her up. Before his hand touched her shoulder, however, he noticed something else. A sleeping Helga, sharing the couch with Miriam, the two of them snoring lightly. Bob felt his anger wash away and he smiled to himself. Carefully he took the blanket off the back of the couch and placed it over the two of them, kissing them both on the forehead. He then sat in then chair opposite and began watching TV. Waking them up could wait.
Helga walked to school hesitantly Monday morning. Phoebe had called her the day before, asking about the pregnancy test. Apparently she had heard it off Gerald, and if Gerald knew, Arnold knew. And if they knew, the rest of the school would know too. When she made it to school she stood in the gateway hesitantly, wondering if she should go in or if she should wag the day off and go into the city for some alone time. Then again, she'd never run away from anything before, why should she do it now? She puffed up her chest and walked into the school, scowling as she walked. People were bound to try and bully her, but hell, she was Helga Pataki. She never let anyone push her around, and she wasn't about to start now!
She didn't make it halfway across the school yard when she was confronted by Rhonda and Nadine.
"Hello Helga. On your way to our group, are you?" Rhonda snapped, and Helga grunted.
"What do you want, Rhonda?"
"Just to let you know that everyone knows you're pregnant. And we cannot have that kind of bad publicity at our table. So I'm going to have to ask you not to come over to our table anymore," Rhonda said in possibly the bitchiest tone Helga had ever heard. Helga felt her heart flutter at the confrontation, felt Ryan appear in the back of her mind, but before letting it show she scoffed loudly.
"Don't flatter yourself Rhonda. I know you think you're the top shit but the truth is you're just the same as everyone else. In fact, you're worse. You're selfish, stuck up and care so much about your appearance that you'll sell out your friends at a chance to shine. I'd rather be alone than be like you," Helga spat, and Rhonda's mouth dropped open as Helga pushed past her. She made her way to the lockers without too much trouble, a couple of dirty looks from some of the people Rhonda was friends with, a few whispers behind hands, but nothing too excessive. As she gathered her books for first class Phoebe found her.
"Hi Helga!"
"Oh, hey Pheebs, what's up?"
"Not a lot… just wondering how you were?"
"Yeah, I'm doing okay. Just trying to ignore the dirty looks everyone is obsessed with giving me. How about yourself Pheebs? How'd the date with Gerald go? Put in a good word for me?"
"Of course, Helga. I never give anything but good words. Of course, if you told me what you did buy the test for I could vouch for you a lot easier. Are you sure it's completely a secret?"
"Completely a secret. So secret I can't even tell you, Pheebs. I'm sorry, I wish I could," Helga said, honestly believing her own words. She wished she could tell Phoebe everything but… well, she just couldn't.
Ever since the pregnancy test Helga had been contemplating telling people about it more and more. She didn't know who she could tell, though. She loved Phoebe, but she didn't really deal with heavy days things like this so much. It made her uncomfortable. Despite the strange bonding moment shared with Miriam she didn't feel close enough to tell her either. Aside from that there was Arnold, who she knew she could trust with anything, but…
"So, where are we going to sit now?" Phoebe interrupted her thoughts, and Helga frowned at her.
"What do you mean?"
"Rhonda was talking earlier about her not wanting you sitting with us. So, where do you think we should sit? I looked into it and I thought the place underneath the tree in the courtyard could be nice,"
Helga shook her head, smiling. Trust Phoebe to cheer her up in a heartbeat. Helga placed her hand on Phoebes shoulder and grinned.
"Don't be silly, Phoebe. We're best friends; we don't need to sit with one another at lunchtime to remain that way. I'll be fine sitting by myself- you know me, I can keep myself busy. You keep sitting with the girls. It doesn't make sense we both die of social suicide because of me,"
"Oh, but Helga, are you sure?"
"I'm insisting," Helga slammed the door to her locker shut, and leaned against it despite the bell having already rung. "Now go on. You of all people can't afford to be late," she smiled, and Phoebe smiled kindly back and wrapped her arms around her friend.
"Thanks Helga. I'll see you after school," she promised, turned and headed off to class. Helga watched her friend weave her way through the swarms of people until she was out of sight. When finally she disappeared from sight, Helga couldn't help but keep staring at the place she'd once been. No matter what anyone said about Phoebe being nerdy and kind of socially awkward, Helga wouldn't trade her for anything in the world. It wasn't until most of people had left the hallway that Helga finally tore her eyes away and pulled herself off her locker for class.
And her eyes landed right on Arnold.
He was standing directly in front of her, eyes fixed on hers, expression unreadable. He wore his old flannel shirt, blue jeans and his hat, and for a long time neither of them said anything. It wasn't until the last student had closed the door to their classroom did he speak.
"So, I heard the rumours,"
"Yeah I think just about everyone has heard the rumours Arnold," Helga answered sarcastically, and Arnold hung his head, letting his blonde hair cover his eyes.
"Well… I don't want to believe something that isn't true,"
"Then don't," Helga answered simply, and turned around to open her locker once more, despite not needing a thing out of it. Inside, taped to the door, was an old photo of her and Arnold, taken as friends. She felt a pang travel all the way down to her feet. She wondered if Arnold could see the photo; she wasn't sure if she wanted him too or not.
"Helga… I don't want to play these games anymore. I want us to be friends, like before. I don't know what I did wrong, but again, I'm sorry. Please, Helga. Just… tell me everything is okay?" his voice called out from behind her, and Helga felt her heart leap into her throat. She wanted to turn around, but she didn't want him to see the tears that had sprung into her eyes. For a couple of minutes, Helga stood motionless, trying to think of something to say. Eventually she knew she couldn't lie to Arnold.
"No," she whispered, "Everything isn't okay," she heard Arnold take a step closer to her, and she shut the locker door forcibly to ward him off coming closer. She blinked the tears away furiously, and turned to face him.
"I'm not pregnant, if that's what you came here to find out," she said, trying to sound bitter. Arnold took a step back and flicked his hair from his face.
"Well… that is what I heard. Rhonda said she saw you with a pregnancy test, and that she saw it was positive," he told her, and Helga bit her lip angrily. That lying bitch!
"She saw me with a pregnancy test, an unused one. I didn't give her details, so she made it up. It's very classy of her," Helga answered, and Arnold shrugged.
"So… what were you doing with a pregnancy test?"
"What do you think, Arnold?" Helga answered, finally exhausted. One secret was enough for her right now. No, wait, make that two secrets. She was so used to keeping her secret about Arnold under wraps that it seemed almost like the truth to her now. You wear a mask for so long, you forget who you were beneath it. Before he had a chance to answer, she pushed past him and began walking to class.
"So… you thought you could have been?"
"Give it a rest, Arnold,"
"When? At Rhonda's party?" Arnold hurried along behind her. "Because I thought…"
"You thought what, Arnold?" Helga snapped, spinning to face him so fast he almost bumped into her. "You thought you'd start caring? You thought just because you kissed me it meant I was yours for the night? Despite you running off to Lila only hours afterwards?" Helga growled, and Arnold visibly gulped before her.
"No, Arnold, it wasn't that night. It was a couple weeks before. Not that it's any of your business. Now if you'd be so kind, I'd prefer you didn't talk to me about it anymore, okay?" she hissed, and turned to keep walking. Before she took so much of a step, Arnold spoke again.
"Did you love him?"
"Excuse me?"
"The guy… the guy lucky enough to… to… did you love him?" Arnold asked behind her. His voice was small, and Helga bit her lip as memories rushed to her mind, flooding her thoughts.
"No," she finally answered. "No. I didn't at all,"
The bell rang as class finished, and Helga was glad to be hiding within the crowd as she walked away. Despite wanting to with all her might she didn't look back, and didn't let the tears come out until the bathroom door was locked tightly behind her. Little did she know Arnold had remained motionless, almost in a trance, until had Gerald wandered out to ask him where he was. Gerald draped his shoulder around Arnold's shoulders, comforting him in telling him everything would be alright, and that Helga was crazy. Gerald watched as his best friend moped about the rest of the day, and snarled to himself. He wasn't putting up with this Helga bullshit anymore.
A/N: OOOOOH. EXCITING. RIGHT? No? Shh. It totally is.